


Shindig with Demons

by Sinnamonroller (Shining_Sins)



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Church AU, F/F, M/M, This will take a while to update
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2018-08-31 21:07:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 40,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8593840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shining_Sins/pseuds/Sinnamonroller
Summary: Dipper and his sister Mabel have been sent to church camp for the last 5 summers, and they were the worst of the worst. Mabel even hated it, and she loved camps. When the all dreaded summer starts, they are surprised to find that instead of going to church camp, their parents decided to send them to their great uncles church for first hand experience. But something seems a bit off, like they're hiding something.





	1. Chapter 1

The days were ticking away, closer and closer to the end of school and into summer. Usually, normal kids would be planning celebrations or parties, but Dipper and Mabel knew better. Their parents being extremely faithful to the lord decided to send their children to church camp for the entirety of their summer. This meant that summer was the opposite of excitement for them. Usually it would seem fun and all, but church camp was not a fun camp. The scorching hot sun as you paddle in small canoes with several random people was not fun and not being able to explore the open forest behind the cabins was worse. They had no freedom there and it was more of a prison than anything. Other church camps seemed way better than this one, but their parents insisted on sending them to this one. The least fun one of them all.

The days passed and when the final day came, Mabel and Dipper filled their prayers with all the hope they could muster. Even if the camp had caught on fire and it was canceled, anything to free them from this burden was better than going. The dinner that night was silent as well. They tried with all their might to change the subject from church camp in hope that their parents would forget. Although that was highly unlikely. 

Their sleep was peaceful but the dread returned in the morning. When they got dressed and headed down the stairs they were greeted by happy, starry eyes parents. Here it comes.

"Are you ready to go to your uncles church!" Womp, there it is- wait what. Mabel seemed to comprehend it faster than Dipper.

"You know we are!" Mabel seemed so bright, it was blinding. "But what about church camp?" He got elbowed in the rib for that. He was indeed that one kid. The kid who reminded the teacher of the test they had forgotten. But now, now was not the time to be that kid.

"We decided that the camp wasn't teaching you anything about being true to the Lord, so we're sending you to you Great Uncle Ford and his brother Stanley's church. Don't forget to be polite, call them Father, be thankful, it was very hard to convince them to let you stay. They are very busy men." Their mother seemed even more happy than Mabel. Dipper was still trying to get the realization that he wasn't going to get dunked in the toilet anymore. (He was the bullied kid at church camp) It was all worth it. 

"The church is called Gravity Church, its located in Gravity Falls. Its a small town at the edge of Oregon. Its also very known for their wildlife and mysterious lore." His father stated blatantly and their mother nudged him a bit. "But dont forget why you're going. We want you both to learn how to take care of a church. Just in case."

Outside the house was a pickup truck that looked like it went through a tornado. A girl with long beautiful red hair sat at the drivers seat, waving at them. They both walked over to the truck, backpacks over their shoulder. "Are you Wendy?" Mabel squeaked and bounced a bit.

"The one and only." Her smile was so bright. Dipper smiled a bit at the smile and felt his sister nudge him a bit, winking a bit. "Get in the truck, we've got a while before we get to Gravity Falls. Better get on the road." They both nodded and threw their stuff in the back. Sitting in the truck was a tight fit with three people. Well, two since Dipper and Mabel were pretty small. At least compared to Wendy who was tall and strong looking. With the prettiest eyes you would have ever seen. Like an angel on earth- Mabel poked Dipper and he realized he had been staring at Wendy for the past ten minutes. Luckily Wendy didn't seem to notice. 

The roads started to turn rough after the 2nd hour. They had hit dirt road and Dipper started to really wonder how far this town really was. He knew it was in the middle of no where, but this seemed crazy. There was woods all around them and the rich smell of greenery filled the air. The road was stretching far ahead of them as far as can see, overgrown by weeds and grass. It was so relaxing that Dipper felt like dozing, the rocking of the truck didn't help. He watched as the trees pass and he even saw a deer. It was so different than from the trees in town. These were wild and branches everywhere, while the ones in town were mostly for viewing than for oxygen.

He noticed on one of the trees that had passed was a weird metal thing bolted to it. It seemed more important than a sign and when they passed it, he felt a wave of electricity. It wasn't all that strong, but it made his hair stand on end. He looked over to Mabel who was chatting away to Wendy, neither of which took notice of this strange feeling. He decided not to ask about it in fear that he was just imagining it. It would be embarrassing in front of Wendy.

"Here we are, the border of Gravity falls." Wendy seemed to boast. The sign that passed was large with big bold letters of 'Gravity Falls'. The road didn't seem any different except after a while, they were going downhill. Below was a small town with houses surrounding it. There was a church sitting up on a hill on the other side of the town, he guessed that's where they were heading. 

"Are you a Sister at the church, Wendy?" Dipper picked up on a snippet of Mabel and Wendy's conversation and turned to look at them, he was curious too.

"No, i'm one of the caretakers. I clean up around the place, making sure that nothing gets destroyed by age. My whole family does it actually. Its become sort of a family job for us." She smiled at them with the pretty smile she always gave them. So nice and warm and- another nudge from his sister. He needs to stop doing this before Wendy notices. She was so cool and he got a small glimmer of hope. Maybe he would see her often at the church if she worked there. 

They passed through the town, the building looked old but the streets were lively. He guessed that it was that type of town so small that everyone knew everyone. He didn't want to be the new stranger in town but he quite literally was. Eyes watched as the truck passed and people wave, mostly to Wendy. When the drive slowly became uphill, he looked forward to see a church slowly grow in front of them. It wasn't all that big mostly the size of Dipper and Mabel's house. But it did make sense since it was such a small town.

When they pulled up into the 'parking lot' of the church, they were greeted by two men, that they could only hope to be their uncles. It wasn't a lot, it was more of a grassy clearing for people to park their cars. Though it didn't seem they needed cars since the church was so close to the town. It was just up a hill so driving seemed useless.

"Welcome to the church, I'm guessing you two must be the kids. I'm Stanley and this is my brother Stanford. We're the priests of this church." Stan seemed to be the cheery of the two because Ford seemed like he was not a people person. He seemed out of place and a bit uncomfortable.

"I'm Mable, and this is my brother Dipper! We're so glad that we didn't need to go to church camp- I mean glad to spend time with our Grunkles!" Dipper seemed to be just the same as Ford, cause he could feel the bead of awkward sweat appear on his face. Being thrown into the spot light like this was not feeling too well.

"Grunkles?" It was Ford this time. He raised an eyebrow and even Stan seemed to be a bit puzzled. "Great Uncles silly! It would be weird to call you Father when we're not in work so I thought that this would make it easier!" Dipper face palmed. The whole reason of calling them Father was because it was something to use outside of church to give them respect. But they didn't seem to care at all. They barely seemed like priests in all honesty. Something about them seemed a bit off.

"Well kids, let me show you your rooms. It'll be a bit small!" Stan waved them to follow and Mabel skipped happily after him. It must be small since this church was small. At least it looked sturdy. When he entered the inside was surprisingly clean. The benches were perfectly cleaned, looking brand new. The stained glass windows were beautiful and the pedestal was littered with flowers. Fake flowers, they were covered in a thin layer of dust.

"This place is beautiful!" Mabel squeaked and pranced around. "The only church iv'e been to was the one at church camp! And that was-" She shivered clung to Dipper. "It was awful." She murmured. The memories were obviously haunting her. It still haunted Dipper. They continued on through the church, going out the back door and into what seemed like another property. It was a shack that looked homely and small. It was the same size as the church but it looked a bit more, home than church. They were brought up to the attic area which was coated in dust. Cots sat in the corner waiting for them, and the empty space was mostly taken up by boxes of photos and old clothes.

"The clothes are for charity and the photos are of memories. Don't touch either." Ford grumbled before leaving. Stan laughed a bit, watching his brother leaving. "He's just old and grumpy. You kids settle in, I can help you move some boxes later. Wendy, help them fix the cots. I know for one that they're broken. Forgot about them." He walked after his brother and Dipper slouched. If they had known that they were coming, it would be nice to have had a warmer welcome. And who puts the charity in the attic? Isn't that for charity? Dipper sighed and looked at Wendy. She smiled that perfect smile and walked over to the cots.

"Can one of you guys go get the tool box from Ford? He's bound to have it and I dont see how we can fix these without it. I may be good at my job, but i'm not a miracle worker." She laughed and Mabel ran off. Before she left, she gave Dipper a wink and slid down the ladder, hearing an oof and then her foot steps fade. He sighed. What was she wanting? For him to flirt her up?

"I hope you guys like your stay. It may be a small town that doesn't seem like anything. But it gets fun once you get to know everyone." Wendy was sitting on one of the cots. Obviously trying to figure out what was broken about it. "Uh, yeah. Great, its been great already!" Nice Dipper. You sound like an awkward penguin. Wendy still smiled though. "Good! I can show you around later!" She got on the floor and looked under the cot. Poking at it a bit. An awkward silence hung in the air.

Stomping foot steps came running down from bellow and the ladder rattled as a bright and shining Mabel busted in with a box full of tools. "I got the tools!" She was gasping for air, having run all the way back with a tool box. He didn't understand why she was so happy though. They were literally staying in a dirty attic with Uncles that obviously didn't want them. 

"Thanks Mabel! Wanna help?" Mabel nodded and rushed over to Wendy and fell to her knees. "Dipper, you can see whats wrong with the other cot. Ill join you after this one." Wendy started to show Mabel what to do and Dipper was left to his own devises. He poked at the cot, looking where it was squeaky and what it needed fixed. The thing looked hopeless but he didn't want to be the party pooper. Mabel seemed to be having fun at least an it wasn't as bad as church camp. 

"That's the way! Just tighten up that screw and we should be done." Dipper watched them as they worked. Wendy was so nice. She was strong and dependable too. He sighed and started working on his cot. It looked like it was missing a few springs here and there. He also found that it was missing several screws, there was nothing to really fix. It just needed a lot of work.

"Hows it going Dipper? Got it down?" Wendy was behind him with Mabel, watching as he observed the broken bed. "Its missing a lot of springs and a couple of screws.  Its also a bit rusty." She was so close. She smelled like nature.

"Well then, can you go ask Stan if he's got anything? He's sort of a- collector." She seemed a bit hesitant at his hobbies, but he didn't really want to know what the truth was. He didn't seem like the type of person with a very safe hobby. "He should be in his study, dont forget to knock." She and Mabel went back to poking the old cot and making conversation. This church seemed to be a lot larger than he thought. A study? In this small place? Bigger on the inside it seems.

He made his way down the ladder and headed down the hall to a row of doors. He should have asked for directions because this place really  _was_ bigger on the inside. He knocked on one of the doors that seemed to be used a lot. It looked like an old door that use to be used on a school. There was a window but it was too foggy to see through. The door opened to Ford instead of Stan and Dipper suddenly regretted his choice of door. What type of study would be behind a door like this?

"What do you need kid?" He didn't sound grump, just really irritated. "I'm looking for Stan, Wendy said he'd be in his study. Would you mind pointing me in the right direction. This place is a lot bigger than I first thought." Oh dear, Dipper sounded so nervous when he really shouldn't be. He was so awkward around people it wasn't even funny. "Last door of the hallway." "Oh, uh thank yo-" The door was shut before he had the chance to finish. How rude. Dipper headed down the long hallway to a better looking door than before. He should have tried this one instead. He knocked and he heard shuffling inside before the door was opened to Stan, who smiled at him. It seemed so forced.

"Whatcha need?" He asked, he too seemed to be on a bit of edge. If they really didn't want the kids there they could have just said no to their parents. "Wendy said you might have some spare parts for the cots. We need some screws and springs." Stan laughed a bit. "I knew they were broken, but never that broken. Come on in, ill try and find them. Don't touch anything though its a bit messy and can be dangerous if something falls." Stan walked back in and Dipper followed. Stan left Dipper in what seemed like the main room before going through another door.

Dipper sat on a chair that wasn't taken by stacks of papers and old junk. Wendy wasn't kidding when she said he collected. There were weird statues and strange things in jars. There was even a row of teeth in a plaque on the fire place. For a priest, this was weird. Dipper poked around a bit, not wanting to disobey Stan, but some of the documents were talking about strange things. He gently skimmed over a couple words before one caught his eye. 'Demon'. He wanted to read more because something about demons in a priests study seemed beyond suspicious. But before he could snoop anymore, Stan came back with a box full of what seemed like spare parts.

"This should be enough right?" Stan placed the box next to Dipper smiling. "Yeah, I think it should be fine. I knew Wendy said you were a collector, but this..." He didn't want to sound rude, but it was quite weird. He gave another once over before grabbing the box and standing up.

'Yeah, its just some old stuff from a while back when me and my brother ran around town. I was addicted to weird old stuff." Stan gave what seemed like a forced laugh. It was rough to listen to because it wasn't natural at all. Dipper laughed nervously too. Something seemed  _really_  off. But Dipper just fled out the door and went back to the attic where Mabel was now showing Wendy her sweater collection. "This one is a bit small on be but I still love the pict- Oh hey dip-dop! You find the stuff?" Mabel smiled brightly and pranced over to him and picked up the box. "Wow! Look at all this junk!." She ran back to Wendy who was back at looking to the cot.

"That junks going to hopefully fix this. Wanna help Dipper?" Wendy looked over to Dipper who was not looking around the room. "Oh, uh i'm fine. Mabel loved to do this type of stuff anyways." He went back to looking around the room after Wendy shrugged and started beckoning where Mabel should start. The whole room seemed a bit weird. This whole town was. Everything seemed a little bit too off. It gave such a strange feeling, but he didn't want to be rude and ask about it. Thinking of the town, he remembered the weird metal thing on the tree. He debated if he should go check it out or not, but the walk seemed a bit too far to walk. And he didn't want to ask Wendy because she was already helping them a whole lot. So he kept his mouth shut. 

 

That night it was hard to sleep. The noises at the shack were much worse than in the day. It was louder, and yet quieter. The noises he heard were not human. This place gave him the creeps and his uncles seemed like more of baby sitters than family. They were hiding so much that it was just eating away at Dipper. It was gnawing at him like termites in the support beams. His mind was lacking sleep but he was not tired. Beside him on the other side of the room was a sleeping Mabel. She didnt seem to be bothered by the noises at all. It seemed that he was the only one who was suspicious. It irritated him but he wanted to keep quiet. He wanted nothing to be wrong. He wanted to have at least one normal summer.

The noises grew a bit louder, but this time is came from the window, not the cabin. It sounded like screaching, not like a humans though. The flash image of the paper on the desk came back to him. He fought every urge to get up and check what it was. He didnt want to know. He didnt want to see what that flash of light was, or yelling that sounded like their uncles. He sighed and got up, putting on his vest and climbed quietly down the ladder. He went to the back door and peered out. It was dark, besides the forest line. The shadows were no longer shadows, they were illuminated by a blue shimmering light , the light hypnotizing him. He slowly crept through the brush, hiding behind a tree.

There was a creature, so obscure that Dipper felt his jaw drop.  _Demon_ , yes that is what you call a demon. Ford and Stan were on either side of it, Ford holding a bible and Stan holding a rope attatched to its foot, with Wendy helping him hold it down. Wendy? The Demon was screaming words from a forbidden language and all he could do was stand there, watching. Ford yelled a couple more words before slamming the book shut. The demon gave a final laugh before turning into a vapor, the light fading. Dipper felt his feet move. He found himself heading for the door to the shack. He burst through the door and threw off his shoes. His mind was racing and all his thoughts were blurred together. He shook off his vest onto the chair and flung himself into his cot. He clutched his eyes so tight he could see white. 

_Sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, please sleep dear god please just fall asleep._

He felt panicked but found himself asleep. His dreams were troubled with the image of his uncles and the demon. Its body shiny with some sort of liquid, it be blood or sweat. Maybe even both. Its four arms flailing as its hoofed foot was tied by Stan, and Wendy. When he awoke, he found Mabel on top of him yelling happily.

"First day of church Dipper! First day of church!" He kept silent, looking over his train of thought again. He better keep quiet, not say a word. Dont trust  _anyone_. "Guess we better get ready, huh?" He gave a nervous laugh and forced a smile. But Mabel seemed too happy to notice. He got up and headed to the bathroom, this was going to be a long summer.


	2. Witch hunt

The next morning, Dipper did indeed feel like dying. The glitter hit him right in the heart and he was sneezing glitter. Thought he felt terrible, he seemed to be fine. When he got up and got dressed, he was about to head down stairs when he saw both his grunkles arguing. He felt like he should intervene, but instead hid around the corner leading to the kitchen. 

"I didn't even notice! I was too tired and when I went back it was just gone!." Ford was yelling in a harsh whisper, but Dipper could still hear him loud and clear, but he didn't know what they were talking about. He just hoped Mabel didn't come down here and stop it. It seemed to be important. 

"Well now some random person has information that doesn't need to be seen by the public eye. If someone goes out and tries to find an old lady that turns people to mushrooms, then that's all on you!" Stan was a bit louder, but still tried to keep the hushed approach. Then it hit him, it was the book. They were talking about the book. Dipper was getting gitty and excited. This meant that the notes were not old, but in fact real. If they were concerned about the book, that meant that they were planning to go for it.

"Hey, Grunkle Stan, Grunkle Ford? Whats for breakfast?" Dipper tried to sound as groggy as possible, hoping that they didn't realize he had been eavesdropping on their conversation. 

"Oh hey there kid, didn't see you there! We didn't really make anything, but we have left over sparkle spaghetti." Dipper cringed at that, he knew for a fact that if he took another bite of the food, he might just fall over dead.

"I think we're all good on sparkle spaghetti for now." Stan gave a nervous lough at that. They both knew how deadly Mable's glitter food could be. He stayed home from school for a week once because he could feel his blood turn thick. When they went to the doctors, his blood was indeed thick and he needed to go to the ER. Mabel was crying and saying words that could not understood. She didn't make anymore shiny sushi after that.

"Well, me and Stan will be out for a while, so you can have $20 and find something in town." He was given a handful of cash that seemed way over 20 dollars. "Come on Stan, we have to go uh, pray or something." They both left Dipper alone in the kitchen to where he stood there thinking. He was always thinking. Just then Mabel came into the room with the worst case of bed head you have ever seen. 

"Good morning Dippin Dots. Hungry? I can make some pancakes if you want." Dipper turned to the door.

"No, For gave me some money to go into town. I've got a busy day you know." He laughed nervously. He just hoped that his Grunkles didn't take a truck, because fallowing them on foot would be a hassle. 

Outside was a sight to behold. The sunrise was actually pretty nice from up on the hill. The air was cold, even if it was summer. Everything had dew drops on it and he had to fight the urge to just take a scene walk. He looked around for his Grunkles, or any sign to where they were headed. He heard whispers coming from the back of the church, heading into the woods. He hid just out of sight and watched as Both Stan and Ford were walking into the tree line. He couldn't hear anything they were saying, but it sounded like arguing from the way Stan had the harshness in his tone. 

He hugged the book closer to his chest and kept his distance. His heart was racing, and he was scared that they might be able to hear even thought that was near impossible. Dipper ducked from tree to tree, his hand were quivering ever so slightly. He could tell where they were going. They were heading right to the part of the woods where the witch was located. He could tell because of the oddly colored mushrooms. The book had said that the mushrooms could vary in color depending on what the type of person they were. The darker the color, the more sinister. 

The woods seemed to get darker and the trees became a bit more wild. The branches no longer seemed to make a canopy, but instead bent down, scraping the sides of Dippers face. It became dark, even though it was a little past 9:00. Even thought it was hard to see, he could still follow his Grunkles by the sound of their voice. Stan didn't have the most silent of voices, but even Ford had a pretty loud voice. They seemed to be going over a play, and Dipper knew which one it was. It was written in detail all over the notes in the book.

The walk was actually pretty calming, besides the difficulty of walking. he had to keep up with them, and also be quiet. It didn't help that the forest floor was littered in really dry leaves. He placed each step carefully, but no matter how hard he tried, the leaves would make a satisfying crunch. Each crunch under his foot sent chills up his spine and made him cringe. Sadly, he did not see the little crack in the earth, making him head straight to the forest floor. He couldn't help but let out a fairly high and loud yelp. He froze on the soft bed of the leaves, his heart practically exploding.

"Did you hear that?" Ford's head shot around, scanning the tree's. Though Dipper doubted that he could see him. The trees were too thick and there was too little light. 

"You're such a baby, it sounded like a deer. You probably scared it with your stress. Animals can scent that type of stuff."

"Why would there be a deer here? Through out this entire hike, we've barely seen a bird. Plus, don't tell me you haven't felt the pair of eyes on us." Ford was creeping to where Dipper was laying on the floor. Dipper's stomach was in his throat and all he could hear was the thumping of his chest. 

"Animals are stupid Ford, especially deer. Why else would they jump in front of the car?" Ford seemed to stop and sigh. 

"Fine, I guess your right. We better hurry, I want to get there before lunch. Don't forget we have to walk all the way back." Stan let out a grunt and went back to walking. Ford gave one more glance to the area where Dipper was before following Stan.

Dipper took a moment before he could breathe and move. His muscles ached from tensing up. He got up and continued to follow Ford. This time, he kept a close watch on the ground as well as what was in front of him. Another mistake like that would be an awkward situation of explaining why he was stalking them through the woods for the past hour.

After a while the woods turned back into the light and airy open trees that it use to be, but just as terrifying with hundreds of mushrooms covering the ground. Dipper tried to be careful where he stepped, but it was kinda hard with just how much mushrooms there were. He remembered the story and it only made it worse. 

The witch would help the towns people, giving them herbs and medical advise. They said she was beautiful and giving to all who came to the land. She then had an affair with one of the towns people, only to have him betray her and leave her for another. She did not overcome with sadness and regret, but instead focused all her work into her medicine. But, the man came back and lied, saying that she had poisoned him. Sadly, the town had believed him and chased her into the woods. They did not accept that and went after her, only to try and kill her. Rage filled her heart and killed every last one of the men, turning them to mushrooms. 

Dipper felt kind of bad for her. She never did anything wrong, but Dipper wasn't the one that was going to defeat her, so he had no say in what was right and what was wrong. The mushrooms stopped, and so did Ford. 

Dipper stayed in the tree line, watching from afar. There was a clearing that was fairly big. It held a small cottage that seemed too small for legal standards. But this was too far for the law to reach. It seemed like a nice little house. A small garden sat in front of it, holding flowers and vegetables. It was actually quite nice, if it wasn't for mushrooms here and there. 

Ford and Stan were side by side, looking at the door. You could tell that they were both fairly nervous. The door swung open to a small old lady who held an old cane. Dipper couldn't make out much detail from the distance he was at, but he could tell that her hand were frail from the way she held the cane. They seemed to be talking, no, more like arguing about something. Ford had a low calm tone and spoke firmly. But Stan was nearly yelling and flailing his arms. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he got a couple of words here and there from Stan.

"You cant just take what you want Lena! I know that what they did was terrible-" His voice lowered too low. But the lady seemed to get a bit angrier.

"You don't know what it was like! They tried to burn me!" The lady, no, Lena seemed to be the one doing the yelling now. Her voice sounded so sad.

"I gave them everything! I healed their sick! I fixed their wounds! And this is how they treat me!" Ford and Stan seemed to step back a bit, and Dipper sunk a bit further behind his tree.

"That was years ago!" Ford's voice cracked, which was never a good sign.

"Years or months, ill never forgive you!" Lena's hands shot into the sky and sparks began to appear. At first it seemed like small sparks, but soon it turned into lightning. The sky was no longer the sunny blue it use to be, but now was turning gray. Thunder began to thrum and shook the whole ground. The lightning coming from her was an unnatural purple that curved and twisted like snakes.

Ford and Stan seemed to have retreated a safe distance and were now preparing. The night of the demon replayed in Dippers mind as Ford took out a book that was thicker than the bible. He began to recite different words in different languages. White streams of light surrounded him and Stan seemed to have taken out what looked like a dagger. He bolted right at Lena, dodging any lighting that went for him. Any that did hit him were bounced off by the white streams. Dipper was mesmerized by the whole scene.

Soon Stan was in front of the witch, thrusting the dagger straight at her. Sadly, Lena was not fast enough to evade this attack, and it hit her right in the lung. Dipper watched as she fell limp on the ground, gasping and dying.

"I'm sorry Lena, but it had to be done." Ford looked down at her, his voice dripping with sadness. Dipper felt a bit relieved that Ford had a heart at least.

"I'm not going down alone!" Lena spat, she looked over at the tree line. Right where Dipper was hiding. Before he could flee, he felt his hairs stand on end as the magenta light went straight for him. His eyes clenched closed and he felt a sharp pain hit his side, but not before blue flames erupted. It engulfed Dipper, blurring his vision. He could still stand, and that was all Dipper needed before fleeing, running as fast as possible.  He held his side, blood slowly covering the hoodie he was wearing. He knew that it was a direct hit, so the real question was that, why was he alive? And if something had saved him, what? 

The fire lingered in his mind, it was warm, but not comforting. It was the complete opposite, uncomfortable and scary. If burned, but didn't scorch. 

The branched whipped his face, leaving stinging traced. The run back was far, but he didn't want to stop. He just hoped that Mabel wasn't home.


	3. The Start of a Disaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the previous nights adventures, Dipper has to hide the fact that he knows this secret of his. But he is a terrible lier and is pretty obvious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, long time no see. So, this is awkward. It seems that I have been neglecting any work what so ever. I have looked at my works and felt the guilt of not writing. Ive pushed it in the corner for too long.

The exhaustion from the night before was starting to get to him. He was tired and started dozing off. The uncles were busy with something that morning so Dipper and Mabel were forced to fend for themselves at breakfast. Dipper knew sort of knew what was happening with the uncles. But Mabel just brushed it off as priest work. Mabel was a great cook. Despite the glitter in the pancakes, it was edible, maybe. He had a twitch in knee. His foot was tapping restlessly no matter how hard he tried to stop. His mind was on a panic mode, after what he saw last night. Mabel noticed, but whenever Dipper was in a finicky mood, he was snappy and aggressive. He had to calm down, but he was terrible in a new situation. The best way to deal with it would be to do what he's best at.

After breakfast he ran back up to the attic and sat down. He started writing for a good while, making sure not to miss any details. Even if Mabel read it, she would think it was either a nightmare or just some way to deal with the new transition in a new scene. He decided to add pictures in the best way his drawing skills would let him. After looking over his work, he sighed. He didn't want to see his uncles as bad people. This seemed like a whole lot of macaroni, but if they were  _fighting_ the demon, wouldn't that mean that they were on the good side? Dipper didn't know, but all he knew was that this town was a gold mine of secrets. He had a whole summer of nothing so this might as well be his new "hobby".  He kept the journal he had written in close by. Keeping notes would be useful for future encounters. He didn't want to see something like that again, but at the same time he did. 

He spent an hour on his drawing of the demon. His sleep deprived brain made it hard because remembering what the thing looked like was being blurred by the desire to sleep. He knew staying up that late would get him later. He headed back down the ladder, heading to the kitchen to where Mabel was still cleaning up the kitchen.

"Ah, sorry for leaving you to clean up yourself. I forgot that I needed to do something." Dipper felt a bit guilty. He hated keeping things from her, but he didn't need her to be in this. At least not yet. He didn't want to put her into any unnecessary danger.

"Its ok, you seem to be a bit distracted. But don't worry, this is way better than summer camp. At least we can actually go to town and don't need to make 7 macaroni picture frames." She forced a smile at the finale thought. The memory of Mabel being covered in macaroni and throwing glue at another girl came to mind. She wasn't allowed to use glue anymore after that.

"I'm thinking of going to town today, just to look around and take a breather." Dipper hoped that she didn't want to come with him because she hated any library ever, calling them the most boring thing ever. And since that's where he wanted to head, bringing her along would not be the most efficient choice he could make.

"Wendy was going to show me around the forest today. Maybe later I can retrace my steps with you and show you what she shows me." She seemed a bit more happy than she was before. She loved exploring the woods, but never got the chance at the camp.

"Then ill see you later!" He ran out before they could talk anymore. He was still overly tired and didn't want to deal with words anymore. 

He headed down the hill, noting each plant that passed. Studying was the love of Dippers life and plants were his favorite. Each one with a purpose or danger. He could tell a poison one from an herb even if they looked exactly alike. He wanted to study mushrooms, but he was told not to unless he found someone who was willing to help. Because lets face it, all mushrooms look alike and taste testing each one might not be the best choice.

The road up the hill was much more rocky than he remembered, but seeing that he was in a truck the last time he made his way up it. Going down was much easier than going up so the walk up later would be, very difficult. He was not the most fit person there was.

The walk there was fairly peaceful. It really did calm his nerves, and the air was much more fresh than in the city. The ground leveled out flat and he found himself walking on the sidewalk in town. The roads had barely any cars, but there was a lot of people walking on the sidewalks, but this made sense since the town was small and using a car to get around seemed like a waste of gas and money. 

He searched each sign of the passing stores. Usually libraries, or bookstores, were in the center of town. He decided to search up the history of this town, and his uncles. It might also be smart to look for what that, thing, was about. Even if he didn't find any books about demons, at least there might be a lore or something. 

He found a bookstore that peaked his interest. The sign was old and broken, but the look on the inside made him excited. The floor was pretty messy, but not with dirt. The store was jam packed filled with just books. There didn't seem to be a store manager or anything, but he wasn't planning on buying anything so he might as well just look around. The books seemed old. The covers were dusty and the pages were torn a bit. The store smelled like books. It made Dipper all giddy and happy. He barely got time to spend surrounded by books, especially when they were at church camp.

He found a corner of the store that had piles upon piles of books. Each of the books seemed to be older than the rest, and some of the words seemed to be in a whole different language. He didn't even read the cover before he grabbed one and opened it. The story seemed to be about an old which who turned people into mushrooms if they ever got close to her cottage. This didn't really peak Dippers interest, but something did catch his eye. Notes, covering the sides of the pages.

If seemed to be about the story, but in a more detailed way. He found himself more interested in the notes than the story. Each note was scribbled in a way that was kind of hard to read, but he could still make out the letters. It gave possible locations and even was describing how to, kill the witch? This made Dipper get lost into the book, the notes, the everything. The notes could've been old, but he still wanted to follow them. Every inch of his being was telling him that that was an awful idea. But the day was young, and if it were close by, he could guess who would know where. Especially after today.

He got up and took the book with him. He wasn't going to keep it, he was just going to do some unknown borrowing. He walked out of the store and headed back to the church. He looked at his watch that stuck to his wrist ticking. He frowned. Dipper had been in that store for more than 4 hours doing nothing but studying. That was more concerning than most people would think. For Dipper, he could read for 10 hours straight, but his parents and teachers told him that, that would be an awful idea.

He looked up from his watch and cringed a bit. The hill looked more like a cliff than anything. Maybe he should have asked Mabel to come pick him up with Wendy's help. But it was too late, the hill was looming over him and his feet didn't seem to stop. Dipper mentally told himself that after this, he would exorcise. Well, that was the plan anyways.

The walk wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, with the help of the gravel. He retraced his train of thought and renames each plant that he had already said. The walk was twice as long thanks to the amount of stamina Dipper had. At least two breaks had to be taken and one slow walk. This hill was more like a cliff than anything. There may have been a gravel road, but only trucks could probably make it up. Any small car would just tumble backwards.

The shack was quiet except for the ticking of the clock. This was a great time to do some more reading along with note taking. He hoped had hoped that he would get some peace and quiet, without Mabel pestering him to go out in the woods with her. He loved to woods, he really did. But this book seemed to be more interesting than anything. 

After about an hour or so, he heard the front door open. Rapid foot steps came barreling toward the ladder and it seemed the whole house shook as Mabel forced her way up. She was out of breath with a lot of sticks in her hair. She looked like she fell down a hill a couple of times, through bushes and sticks.

"Ohmygoddipperyouwouldnotbelievewhathappenedwewereinthewoodsandtherewasa-" Words? Was she speaking words?

"Mabel chill, I cant make out a thing your saying. Breathe please." Dipper sat up and beckoned Mabel to sit beside him.

"When me and Wendy went out in the woods, we saw wild horses! It was amazing. They were all, wild and stuff. Wendy told me not to go near them because they were wild and stuff and that I could get hurt blah blah blah... But i sorta just ran at them to say hello but they panicked and started going on a rampage and so I grabbed a hold of one and..." She seemed to have had a more exciting day than Dipper at least. She kept going but Dipper's mind kept going back to the book. He wanted to ask her, but this wasn't the time. He decided to ask her tomorrow.

"And then the horse flew me off and-" Dipper put his hand up to stop her. "You think we should have your sparkle spaghetti tonight?" Her face flew back to joy and she didn't even answer. She ran back down to the kitchen, leaving Dipper alone. He sighed and got up to join her, looking at the book one last time.

"Do you need any help? With dinner I mean." He stepped into the kitchen and was already greeted with the sight of sparkles. Of course that was expected, it wasn't called sparkle spaghetti for no reason.

"I think i've got this bro-bro. Just go and get Grunkle Ford from his study. Stan said he'll be back later." And with that, she went back to dumping some glitter into a pot of water. The sight made Dipper's stomach twist a bit. Glitter wasn't that healthy to eat to begin with. That much may just kill him.

He went down the hall to where Fords study was and knocked four times. He heard a couple of shuffles and paper crunches before the door opened to a very tired looking Ford. 

"What do you need kid. I've been up all night, so unless you've got some coffee for me, I need to finish this up."

"Its dinner time, and Mabel is making some sparkle spaghetti tonight. Even if the food wont wake you up, i'm pretty sure the chemicals in the sparkles will." Ford gave a laugh at that and yawned a bit.

"Ill head over there in a bit. I've got some more stuff to do before I can take a break." With that he gave a nod and went back into his study, leaving Dipper to go back to his own activities. Which was the book of course.

He headed back up to the loft where the book lay. He sat on the bed and began flipping through the book, re-reading what he had just read.

"Dipper! Dinners done. I even added extra sparkles for you!" His stomach turned and twisted. He might not even be able to go out exploring, if he dies from over consuming glitter.


	4. A day out

The wound on his side wasn't as bad as he thought. Sure, it was bloody, but it wasn't deep enough for stitches nor critical damage. He found some bandages under the sink, and thanked the heavens that Mabel was out with Wendy again. She would have freaked out if she saw Dipper, bloody and bruised. He had a couple of scratches on his face from the branches, but that would be easy to cover up. His clumsy-ness was pretty well known. 

As he finished up bandaging and applying medicine to each of his face scratches, he headed up stairs. He wanted to finish up looking around the book before returning it. Or maybe he wouldn't since he couldn't find the thing. Like, at all. He turned everything inside out and up side down, retracing his steps and looking through everything before coming to a conclusion. He had dropped it while running away. 

He mentally and physically kicked himself. Now things were going to be even more suspicious. What if they searched for finger prints on the book? Or looked at the blood and found his DNA?!?! Dipper was now in panic mode, neither of his Grunkles had come back yet. They were probably cleaning up whatever mess was made in the fight. Or, they could be at one of the labs that they most likely had and were _actually_ testing the DNA. If they saw that it was practically their DNA, it would be weird and then he would be questions but he was never really good at being questioned and always panicked when it came to it. 

He had to breathe a bit after starting to hyperventilate. The book didn't matter because the deed was done. Lena was gone and now the town was free of, well whatever they killed her for. That saddened Dipper a bit, because no matter what you say, she really didn't do anything.

He plopped down onto the cot, looking at the decaying ceiling. He was tired and started to realize that his eye lids were heavier than he had thought. His mind was full of thoughts and he had a lot of stuff to think about. Plus, the wound on his side was throbbing. It hurt but wasn't unbearable. Before he knew it, his dreams took over. Well, almost. He didn't really dream of anything but was instead awoken by a noise. It was just barely 10:30 am.

He heard the from door open and some foot steps. It was heading to the loft so it was most likely Mabel. He checked his wounds again and sat up in his bed, making sure he didn't seem in utter pain. His body was sore and he wanted to do nothing more than sleep. Running for such a long ways through the forest really took it out of him. 

The attic hatch opened up, but instead of showing the bouncing, energetic sister he knew, a head full of red hair showed up. Wendy gave a smile and waved a bit, making Dipper sit up a bit straighter and give his own weird and awkward smile.

"Mabel said you might wanna come on our adventure this time. Shes waiting at the ice cream shop for us."

"Oh, yeah sure. Ill be right down. Let me just, uh, put my stuff away." He gave a cheer in his head. Spending time with Wendy would get his mind off of things.

"Ill wait for you down stairs then." She went back down the ladder, disappearing from sight. Dipper frantically threw his blanket off of him and grabbed his vest. He did want to bring his hoodie, but there was still a big hole and blood on it from the previous day. And he did not want to explain how things got that way. How could he? 'Yeah, I just saw a witch, she tried to kill me with grape lightning, and somehow i'm still alive.'

He quickly climbed down and stepped into the kitchen, greeting Wendy as she got up from where she was sitting.

"Please tell me we're taking a vehicle." Dipper thought back to his hike up and down that hill, dread creeping its way to his stomach.

"Of course man, who would ever travel on that hill without one?" She gave a laugh and walked out.  The truck they had traveled in was sitting in the worn out driveway that the church held. Weirdly, the truck had a scrape that wasn't there before. It was fairly deep too.

"What happened to the truck? It looks like it fell down the hill. " He traced the scrape, the paint peeling off at the edges of the dent, revealing the metal underneath.

"Well, uh, you know. I sorta took it too deep into the woods, so it must've caught on a tree or something." She gave a nervous laugh and opened the drivers door.

There is no way a tree had done this. If it had, it would need to be made of metal with a hook at the end. Also, why would you need to drive deep into the woods with a truck? He had seen enough stuff to know not to try and pry. It would only make him seem suspicious, or it would put Wendy in an awkward situation which he didn't want. He was already awkward as it was.

When he sat in the seat of the truck, he was greeted with a bunch of pine needles sitting at the bottom of the truck. At least she wasn't lying about the woods part.

"We're going to head down to a small ice cream shop in town. When I say small, I mean that they have only three flavors. But, they have more toppings that probably a store could hold. It can go from your classic sprinkles, all the way to cheerios. Though I don't suggest cheerios. They kinda taste bad on ice cream." She seemed so pretty in the sun. Her hair was like fire. 

Dipper didn't notice himself staring at her until she actually said something.

"Do I have a bug on my face or something. You seem pretty distracted." She gave a small laugh and then went back to driving.

"Oh no I was just thinking about, uh, stuff. You know, since ill be here like all summer a lot of things have been on my mind, and such." He went to go look out his window, which oddly enough wasn't there. Like, his window was not there at all. Just an open space. He wanted to ask what happened, but he kept quiet.

The ice cream shop they went to was actually small. As in it was just a truck in a parking lot. Mabel was sitting on a bench talking to a girl with long blonde hair. They seemed to be getting along, but the blonde was doing most of the talking. When Mabel saw Dipper and Wendy pull up she got up and waved. She had that sunshine smile that blinded him. It was like she took Dippers energy and combined it with her own. A rocket ready to explode with confetti. 

"Hey Dipper! Glad to see you out of the house you big grump. This is Pacifica! She's really pretty and nice. Ill go get us some ice cream, I already know what you like Dip-Dop" And with that she bounced away. He was kind of glad she took over most of the conversations. He was never really one to chat so having someone who said everything at once and then left was pretty nice. Unless it was something important, then she usually skipped over important details and left Dipper puzzled. 

"Hi, I'm Pacifica. You know, for twins you guys really aren't that similar huh?" They shook hands before sitting at a nearby table while Wendy and Mabel got the ice cream.

"Uh, yeah I get that a lot. The only thing we mostly have it our looks." He gave a small chuckle, looking over to where Mabel had four bowls. One of them was over loaded with sprinkles, marshmallows, and drowned in chocolate sauce. He could guess that Mabel got a  bit crazy with the toppings. He was told that there were a lot of choice, but without restrictions, she went crazy with the stuff. 

His bowl just had two scoops of chocolate and some brownie chunks. He thanked the lord that there was only a handful.

"So where you guys wanna go after this." Wendy was stuffing her face with whip cream.

"Lets go to the woods! You said we could find some chipmunks by the lake right?" Mabel got all excited and looked over to Pacifica. "We can even show Pacifica them. Maybe we'll see the bunnies again too! And Dipper can get all crazy about plants!" She laughed and poked his shin with her foot.

"Sure, but finish your ice cream, i'm afraid you might choke on marshmallow if we walk." Wendy chuckled as Mabel started to shovel the rest of her bowl into her mouth.

 

When they got up, Mabel seemed to be in a sugar coma as she wobbled over to the garbage can, throwing her bowl away before collapsing onto Dipper.

"I feel like i'm going to die" She leaned onto him groans in pain.

"Mabel get off! Your heavy and we're both going to fall!" He was trying his best not to wince in pain. His side wound might not have been back, but it still hurt like hell.

"Oh hey, wheres your hat? You never take it off." She pointed to his hair which was pointed every which way in a sign of bed head.

"Oh, I must have left it back at the room." He must have left it in the room. Wendy did catch him right as he woke up.

"Everybody in the truck. Squeeze in if you can, we're going illegal. No seat belts." Wendy jumped in and started the engine. Mabel cheered and patted the seat next to her to Pacifica. Turns out four people in a fairly small truck was actually a super tight fit. If they weren't good friends before, they sure were now.

He was actually pretty happy that there was no window. It made room for breathing. He watched as the scene outside went from town to forest. Soon they were surrounded by the wide open trees. He was pretty happy that they were in the forest. He loved the way the air made his nose cold from being so airy. The earthy atmosphere really put him at ease. They stopped by a little stream that seemed to head toward an opening at the edge of the tree's that he assumed was the lake. The small clearing almost seemed nice enough to camp in. Beside the huge amount of smaller little streams that snaked across it. It was like a mat of vain's covering the ground. 

"This place is so pretty! You think there's fish in the river?" Mabel climbed her way over Pacifica and Dipper, jumping out of the truck and bouncing around.

"Sure, I mean it is connected to a lake. There's bound to be at least some small fish." Wendy turned off the truck and got out, Dipper and Pacifica following. When Dipper took a closer look, the place was full of life. From various plants, to many bugs. It was pretty calming to just look at the little streams that poked through the ground. There must have been a whole underground water system.

"This is actually pretty nice, though there could be less, uh, flies." She swatted a couple buzzers away from her face. 

"Well, this place it covered in water. Its the best place for flies to lay eggs. Mosquitoes here would be terrible." Dipper commented, standing from where he was poking at the ground and started to look around again. The mid afternoon sun shone through the trees just right. Making a warm, but not hot blanket of sunshine. A strong wind came from the lake, keeping any bugs that wanted to land, off of him. It would be nice to take a nap here, but there was still indeed, way too many bugs.

"Oh hey there kids!" All four of them turned around, Ford and Stan walking toward them. Judging but the way their pant legs were fairly wet, they came from the lake. "You guys fishing?"

"Yeah, this place is the best for fishing. Free bait all around you and no one but you." Stan said. 

"Grunke Stan, isnt that illegal?" Mabel giggled and raised an eyebrow at him.

"When had anything followed the law with him." Wendy quipped and five of them laughed. Stan stared unimpressed at them.

"Hey, I do some stuff normally. Like uh, shopping?" They way he said that suggested that even he didn't believe it. 

"Hey Wendy, we actually have an errand for you." Ford stared at her and both Wendy and him got tense for a moment. 

"Sure, whats up." Wendy seemed to try and relax, but instead got a bit more awkward.

"The cat got out again and we need you to go get him. We last saw him around the junkyard." Well if that wasn't code then Dipper didn't know what was. He really wanted to join in but before he could make any decisions, Mabel jumped into the conversation.

"OOOhh, can I go? I love cats! And they seem to really like me too so I could be a really big help and maybe like do some weird cat calls to see if it reacts." Ford and Stan looked at each other. Obviously a tiny bit panicked.

"Maybe next time buddy, but i've got this. You guys can go back to town. If you want, you can go maybe get a game board from the library and we can have game night?" Wendy pat her on the shoulder and Mabel bounced in excitement.

"WE CAN PLAY UNO!" She grabbed Pacifica's hand and gave a big smile.

"You'll join us too right?" She gave a slight pout, giving what Dipper would call the ultimate puppy eyes. He could never escape them so Pacifica would have a hard time too.

"Uh, sure. I mean we are friends right?" Mabel gave a squeal and glared at Dipper, making him sigh and nod helplessly. It was best not to struggle under these circumstances.

"That's great guys, ill catch up with you later then." Wendy gave a small wave before heading off to where Stan and Ford had come from.

"Okay squad, lets head out!" Mabel grabbed Pacificas hand and dragged her away. Dipper headed after them, only to be stopped by Ford. Every muscle froze in his body.

"Id this yours by the way kiddo." Stan held out a hand to where Dippers hat sat. Dirtied from the day before. His stomach sank, his heart reaching his throat.

"Uh, yeah, I thought I lost it." He gave a nervous laugh and grabbed it. His stare fell to the little symbol on it. His hand rubbing off some dirt. "Where'd you find it?"


	5. What could go wrong?

Ford and Stan gave each other a look. Dipper didn't quite know what type of look it was, but he knew that it had to be bad. He fidgeted a bit before giving an awkward laugh to break the silence that hung in the air. 

"Well, I'm just gonna go and find Mabel. She might be wondering where I am." He forced his knees to ease up and fought the urge to just bolt for it. It would only add to the pile of alarm there was. To his dismay, Ford stopped him. His hand was heavy on his shoulder. A normally comforting gesture just added to the pool of regret spooling in his stomach.

"We actually want to talk to you about where we might have found that hat. Your not in trouble or anything. We're just concerned is all." Fords eyes seemed warm, but that sharp stone edge behind it made Dipper swallow a sharp shard of anxiety. He was never good with talks. Especially under a fairly stressful situation such as this. He just wished that Mabel was here. It always made his stress dissipate.

"Uh, sure. Should we go back to the church, or something." He couldn't help but avert his eyes. Just as he was about to implode with all the pressure, a little radio on the waist of Stan buzzed to life. after a bucket load of fuzz vanished a calming, but no so calm voice came over.

"Uh, Stan! The uh, the great spirit is kinda freaking out!" It was the voice of none other than Wendy. He could hear some booming over the small walkie-talkie. He even heard some of the booming off into the distance. When he turned his gaze to the direction, he noticed the woods about two miles away had some scattered birds flying off. His interest was automatically peaked. His mind was immediately stuffed with questions that were sure to never be answered. Especially in his current position. 

He saw both Stan and Ford sorta panic a bit and Stan rushed off to the side, holding the radio close to his face and spitting out a boat load of information that Dipper couldn't quite make out. Ford walked up to Dipper and looked down at him. 

"Listen very carefully to me. Right now is not the best time to talk about what you were doing yesterday, but we will talk about it. We are more or so worried about the amount of blood there was but for now I need you to go back to the church. And Please dear god I beg of the lord do not follow us." He seemed serious about his concerns. But Dipper knew that staying put was just not his thing. 

"Fine." He wanted to say anything else, anything at all, but the words he thought of just didn't puzzle together. He was definitely going to follow them, that was for sure. But he wanted to have a bit more space in between him and whatever it was that they were doing. His cut was still fresh and the layer of dried blood didn't need to be cracked open again to cause more concern than there already was. 

"We'll be back for dinner." Ford grabbed Stan by the arm, who was still barking orders into the radio. They both ran off to the direction of the lake, and Dipper couldn't help but walk to the edge of the trees. They both jumped into what seemed like a golf cart and drove off toward where the rumbling came from. He watched as they disappeared from sight, and as soon as they did Dipper ran to where his sister was. Mabel was sitting on a bench with Pacifica. They were chatting and giggling. They seemed to be such a happy pair and Dipper reconsidered disturbing them. But it was too late, Mabel saw him and waved him over. 

"Bro-bro! Where have you been! We've been waiting for ages! Wheres Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford?" She peered around behind him, searching for the duo. 

"They had some uh, stuff to do. I've actually gotta go too though. You don't mind do you?" He felt bad leaving them, but they seemed to be having fun without him so it wouldn't be that bad. 

"Sure, ill save you a burger since that's where me and Pacifica are going to go next. See you later!" She and Pacifica left the area and headed to the direction of town. He was a little happy that he didn't need to go with them. Being around nothing but girls was a bit tiring, Wendy or no.

Dipper turned back to the forest and sighed a bit. His legs were turning a sore from all the running he's been doing in the last couple of days, and it was far from over. He decided to jog this time since he wanted to be a bit farther from the group. He didn't need anymore scars. 

It wasn't really hard to find the other three with all the noise and commotion that was happening, but he could barely see anything with all the trees in the way. If he wanted to check out what was going on, he would need to get closer. Dipper sat on the forest floor for  moment, looking over his options. His Grunkles already knew that he knew what was technically going on so if they saw him anywhere near what was going on, it wouldn't be too terrible. But he was told to stay out of this so he would get in trouble. Dipper was already in some deep mud so deepening the hole he was in would make everything a whole lot worse. 

The booming that was going on seemed to get closer and a tad bit louder. When Dipper got up, he looked over to see what was going on and it looked as if the group had moved to what seemed to be a clearing. This was Dippers chance to really see what was going on. Instead of heading over there he chose a pretty tall looking tree and pulled himself up into the branches. When he reached a reasonable height, he still could not see anything. Climbing higher was an option. A terrible option, but a choice at that. 

He jumped back down and thought for a moment. This was a chance of a life time. Not taking it would mean a world of regret later. Dipper headed over to where the roars were coming from and slowed down a bit when he came to the fairly large clearing, which he now realized was a pond. Towering over the pond seemed to be a bear, or what seemed like a bear. But instead of your natural bear, it was about five times larger and had antlers. Vines were wrapped around almost every part of its body and other greenery seemed to be there too. It would be breath taking majestic if it were not for it being so enraged. 

Stan, Ford, and Wendy were all around it. They seemed to be trying to calm it down by the way Wendy was shushing it and waving her arms in an attempt to make it see reason. But it seemed to do nothing but make it roar more. Ford was also saying stuff to it along with Stan. But Stan seemed to be more aggressive with the way he was yelling and pointing, at Ford anyways. Either way, the giant beast was not calming anytime soon.

The bear gave off another bellowing howl and charged at his Grunkles. Ford and Stan jumped out of the way before a giant paw smashed down to where they were. The poor creature seemed exhausted, its breath was heavy and its movements sluggish. Wendy kept her tone soothing and reached out to it. To Dippers horror the brute of a bear turned to the direction of Wendy and raised its claws, which was mind you most likely to be the size of a small car. Dipper didn't think at that moment and ran forward, reaching out to Wendy and jumped forward, Dipper hissing a bit as his side stung in protest. They both hit the ground with a thud, but soon after a much larger thud sounded behind him and when he looked, four claws that were much larger than him were burrowed deep into the ground.

Dipper could help but gulp when he felt three very surprised eyes fall onto this back. He looked down at Wendy, who he was still on top of and got up quickly, brushing off his pants and helping her up.

"Dipper, what are you doing here." She seemed puzzled, but still grateful that he had saved her.

"Well, Grunkle Ford told me to stay put, so as the rebellious teen I played my role and didn't listen." Dipper gave a small awkward laugh before a loud roar erupted from behind him. The bear was anything but pleased at the new guest.

"Well Stan is going to play the part of being the responsible adult and ground your ass when this is over!" Stan screamed from across the pond.

"Stanley language." Ford still seemed mad, but more concerned at the threat before them.

"Medeina please listen! We didn't mean to awaken you at such a bad time, but we need your help!" Ford yelled up to the angered, Deity? 

"เ ๔๏ ภ๏t ฬคภt t๏ ђєคг א๏ย єץςยรє, ђย๓คภ" A fairly feminine but distorted voice came from Medeina.

"We need your help, please." Wendy was the one pleading this time. Wendy stood tall and seemed to have no fear what so ever. Medeina did seem to calm down a bit. She was no longer thrashing and trying to kill them.

"ฬђคt ๔๏ ץ๏ย ภєє๔ ђєlק ฬเtђ tђคt เร ร๏ เ๓ק๏гtคภt t๏ คฬคкєภ ๓є?" She bent her head down close to Wendy, and at this Wendy stepped back a bit.

"We need help in finding the rest of Lena" Wendy's voice was staying even and calm, but her movements were backing up a bit. 

Dipper looked over at Wendy a bit shocked. Wasn't Lena already dead? She was stabbed, and almost took Dipper down with her. He kept his mouth shut though, afraid of creating unwanted attention to himself.

Medeina paused for a moment, looking down at Wendy.

"lєภค ђคร ๒ยt tђгєє ๓๏гє." Dipper looked over to Wendy, waiting for a reply, but the one who spoke next was Ford.

"We need to know where they are. We just want to help her." They all seemed to be a bit desperate, and Dipper had no idea why. In all honesty he had no idea what was going on in general. What Dipper did know was that this chat was coming to a close. And once it did, all eyes would go back to him.

"l๏שє ๏ภ tђє ςlเﾓﾓ tђคt кเรรєร tђє รยภ, รค๔ภєรร เภ tђє гเשєг ฬђเςђ ﾓl๏ฬร ๒คςкฬคг๔ร, คภ๔ ค ﾓเภคl ๏ภє ๏ภςє tђє гєรt ﾓค๔єร." Medeina stood tall and turned back to where the destructive path was and started off. Each step she took replaced each broken piece of life with another. Ford was deep in thought and Stan stood there, distracted by his own thoughts. Wendy just sighed in relief and sat down in the grass.

"Man, that was fun. Well guys gotta go, uh, do stuff." Dipper turned and started to power walk away, slowly feeling the atmosphere turn into a more tense one.

"Hold it right there kid." Dipper didn't want to stop, but his legs stopped on their own and he couldn't help but turn to a very angry Stan.

"Yeah, i'm pretty sure that the stuff can wait." Ford walked over to Dipper and looked down at him.

"You know, he did save my life you know." Wendy quickly ran over to the surprisingly calm Ford and not so calm Dipper.

"Plus, who would  _not_ go and see whats going on in this situation?" She was hopefully helping Dipper, but with him being caught previously, this was everything but good.

"I thought I told you to not come here, and what did you do? The complete opposite of things." Ford ignored Wendy and seemed to be struggling at keeping his voice at a reasonable level.

"I just thought that-"

"What if you had been hurt? Or worse? If you had been killed, I don't know what I could tell your parents!" Fords voice raised a bit. All Dipper could do was look down. He knew that his Grunkles were just worried about him. Dippers even worried about himself.

"Wendy, take him back to the church. We will talk with him later, but for now I need to do some research. Stan, please fix the truck." And with that, Ford walked off toward town. Stan looked a bit ticked off from being ordered around, but Ford seemed to be in a scary mood and he didn't want to make things any worse.

"Wendy, come and help once you drop him off." Stan turned around, facing what looked like a truck, or actually it was the truck. From what Dipper could tell, the truck was not in good shape or any shape at all for that matter.

"Lets go, we'll be taking the golf cart. Unless you want to walk." Wendy smiled a bit and Dipper was glad that she didn't seem mad at him.

"I think id rather drive." He relaxed a bit and followed Wendy to the golf cart. It was scratched up and dented, but no where near as bad as the truck.

The drive back was quiet with no radio to fill the silence. The cart followed a small trail that seemed to be centuries old, plants and weeds whipped at the front of the vehicle. Puffs of pollen from the flowers scattered in the air. Dipper was glad that it was all over, for now. He didn't know how much longer he could hold out in such a tense setting. What did Medeina mean anyway? Lena was dead, or so Dipper had thought and now he's being told that there's three more? He wanted to ask questions to Wendy, who was looking straight ahead, trying to avoid the worst of the trail. But Dipper didn't want to break the silence. He was enjoying the buzz of the motor and the fleeing chirps of birds. But it was Wendy who broke it.

"So, how long did you know about, you know." She kept her eyes in front of her, but she didn't seem focused.

"The first night maybe." Dipper's attention went to his hands at the moment. He suddenly noticed all the little creases and veins, playing with the zipper of his vest.

"Hey, look at the bright side. Its not the first time a person had found out about this whole mess." This time Wendy looked over to Dipper. Everything was a bit awkward.

"Really." Dipper felt as if he should say something more to keep the conversation flowing, but all the words he knew before seemed to turn into mushy blobs and anything else got stuck in his throat.

"Yeah, I mean when I first met the two old guys I thought they were just weird old priests that lived on the hill. But I got too curious and stuck my nose into business I shouldn't have." She paused for a moment. "Not say that you shouldn't have, since you know, they're your family and all. You should know whats going on if your going to be staying with them for three months. I'm just saying that when they caught me spying, instead of throwing me into hell they gave me a job. So they might, you know, give you a job." She was trying pretty hard to make Dipper feel better. He knew that, but she also wasn't related to them.

"Thanks Wendy, but I don't think they would want their nephew in such a dangerous, career." Dipper gave off a small scoff. He didn't want to sound rude, but with everything that had happened, Dipper doubted that he would be offered a job after breaking the rules twice.

"You never know." The cart hit solid ground and soon the trees turned into buildings. Dipper didn't know if the cart could make it up the hill, but sure enough the small golf cart pulled itself up the sheer slant and pulled into the cracked parking lot of the church.

"Just make sure to get some rest. Ford really knows how to lecture, trust me." Wendy waved him off before driving off back down the slope, disappearing from sight. Dipper turned to the old building and walked through the door. When the church was empty and without people, it was quite creepy. The structure creaked eerily and Dipper felt as if he was being watched from a distance. He even turned around every once in a while just to make sure he wasn't being followed. But sure enough, there would be nothing.

He made his way up the ladder and into the attic. At this point, he was too tired to do anything. He thought for a moment, pondering if he should change his bandages. But it was too late, his face hit the cot, which gave a creaking resistance to the sudden weight. Dipper was greeted by the inky blackness of sleep quickly, and for once, he slept soundly.

 


	6. The beginning of a new discovery

Dipper woke up to the slam of the front door. Grunkle Fords and Grunkle Stans voices leaked through the floor boards just enough to know it was them. But if Dipper really wanted to snoop he would need to head down. The light that seeped out of the strange shaped window was dimmed, and his alarm clock faintly showed an 11. He was hoping to have slept through the night, but that didnt seem to be the case. When he looked over at Mabels side of the room, her cot was empty. He would have been worried if it werent for the fogginess in his eyes. He pondered for a moment if he should go back to bed. But his stomach groaned in protest. He had skipped out on any sort of dinner, and after all the running earlier in the day he really needed it.

Dipper got up, aware of how his cot creaked under his weight. He knew that if he were to bump into his grunkles that the lecture would commence. So, instead of going to the kitchen, he might as well sneak out to go get something at a corner store. He got dressed as quietly as possible, fully aware of each foot step he made. Making it to the back door would be impossible, and climbing out the window was dangerous at this height. Sneaking out at a lower level window might be better, but all the windows were rusted shut from being unused. The front door would be nice, but it was locked with a fairly complicated lock seeing as it was the main door to the church. 

"I just dont think he's ready." He could hear their voices a bit more clearly once the ladder was down. He knew what they were talking about, but he  _really_ didnt want to talk about it. There would be questions and really long talks which he was just too tired to deal with. The steps down were dangerously creaky and each step made Dipper freeze a bit, waiting for their conversation to continue.

Once he was by the kitchen, he cautously peaked around the corner. Stan and Ford were both at the counter, talk/arguing about recent events. The conversation was at a steady pace, so Dipper took the chance to dash for it. He slid past the doorway and power walked to the door. He was so close to sweet temporary freedom when a very tired voice called from the kitchen.

"Dipper Pines come here and sit down." Dipper sighed and hit hid head on the wall. He  _really really really_ didnt want to talk about it. Long, uncomfortable chats with adults were his worst nightmare. Dipper headed for the kitched, dragging his feet as best he could.

"Yes my dear Grunkle?" He gave an innocent smile and peaked around the corner.

"Dont give me that, sit down." Ford pointed to a chair at the table. He had dark circles under his eyes and Stan was no better. Dipper sat down and looked to the fridge. Ford gave a sigh that could push a boat of the shore, and leaned harder into the counter. 

"Dipper, I dont even know where to start." His hand trailed up to his face and rubbed his eyes. " I thought it would have been a good idea to bring you and your sister here, but turns out I was wrong." This made Dipper's blood boil a bit. He wasnt mad at his Grunkle, he had every right to be mad at him. But they were bringing Mabel into this and Dipper's worst fears were coming to life. The last thing he wanted was to ruin Mabel's summer. 

"It wasnt Mabels fault, she doesnt even know whats going on." He wanted to keep Mabel as far away from this as possible. She was having fun, having a normal summer for once and Dipper had to come and ruin it. 

'Mabel doesnt matter right Dipper, the one we're worried about is you." Stan walked up next to Ford and leaned next to him. "We just want you to be safe. The last thing we need is a dead nephew." They both were heavily concerned and guilt gnawed at Dippers gut. He had snooped in something that wasnt his buisness. 

"Im sorry  I got into it, but its not my fault you guys were banishing demons in the back yard." He didnt want to get angry, but the anger he felt was more at himself. It was showing in his tone.

"Well generally children should be asleep at that sort of time. And what do you mean, when did we do that?" Fords voice was raising ever so slightly, but it kept itself at a reasonable volume.

"When Mabel and I first got here, you guys were beating up a moose of a thing. You expect me not to be curios and cautious about what you were doing? Besides! Im not a kid, im 17 years old, I can drive a damn car!" Dipper's voice was now rich with irritation. He had every right to be suspicious after that. But he wanted to keep calm, yelling wouldnt do anything good. 

"Cautious? You almost died yesterday! And its called minding your own business! A normal person would just go back to sleep and brush it off as a dream!" Stan held no hesitation in yelling. Ford hit him in the shoulder giving a solid glare.

"Do you really want Mabel to wake up Stan? Is that really what what we need?" Ford whispered in a harsh tone.

"For christs sake, she isnt even here! If you guys really cared in the slightest you would realize she hasnt even come home yet! She's probobly out kissing that blonde chick!" Rage filled Dipper for some reason. It felt as if a switch had gone off and suddenly it felt like more eyes than four where on him. It chilled him to the bone but his blood was pumping heat through his head.

"Dipper watch your language! and unlike some people we mind your privacy and dont look into other peoples rooms! And at least we know where she is!" Fords voice was raised now. 

"And you think keeping secrets from me is any better?!" Man, Dipper felt pissed. He didnt feel like he was in control anymore. His movements were not his own and his words were leaving as they please.

"We have no duty to keep you up to date on our where abouts!"

"And you do of mine?!"

"Yes!" It was hard to see anymore as his eyes were getting moist. Before even a drop could fall, he turned and ran out the door. He could hear the calls of Ford and Stan yell after him. But he was young and was much faster. He would never survive running down the hill, so he bolted for the tree line.

Branches and leaves whipped past his face and he could feel his shins sting with each scrape and scratch. But he needed time to himself. He didnt know why he lost his anger but he knew that he wouldnt last in the arguement much longer. Dipper always had wet anger, meaning tears would always get involved. The last thing he wanted was to was to cry.

His feet guided him through the trees and over fallen logs. His joints ached as time went on and his lungs started to burn. Dipper slowed to a slow walk and found himself at the base of a moutain clearing. The clearing was filled with a pool that shimmered with what seemed like stones at the bottom. The clearing was mostly empty  beside a sheer cliff that went up. The cliff held what seemed to be a door, and a large one. It has carving on it that twisted and curled into various shapes. One of them being the shape of an eye. One eye closed, the other open. Moss was covering most of it and it seemed untouched. The pool blocked his path to it since it curled around it. 

Dipper walked up to the water and looked closer at it. The surface of the water was still and no sort of like seemed to be in it. Actually, everything seemed to be silent. Not birds, no bugs, not even wind. Everything was still as a rock. Even with everything being this weird, Dipper still felt a tug. It was as if a rope was pulling him by the core. The air was cold and it was dark. Everything in his heart and mind told him to turn around and leave. So he did. It was like pushing against an ocean wave, or maybe if he was pulling a tree. Something, or someone wanted him at that door. He found his way through the trees again, careful this time not to get hit by trees and thorns. 

The sky was invisible to him and the trees shaded him from the moon. He felt it stronger this time, being hunted by something in the shadows. He quickened his pace, heading for town. He still had no desire to head back to the church.

He felt his feet hit pavement and when he looked around he was some where in a small neighborhood. He didnt want to seem like a creeper so he stayed at the edge of the forest, carefully making his way deeper into town. He went to the only place he could think of.

The building was still lit up. The door was also unlocked and without much thought he headed in. Dipper was greeted by the smell of old books dust. The shelves seemed fuller than they use to be and the place was cleaned up. The corner that use to hold the book that got him into this mess was still book piled, but it looked more controlled this time. Dipper sat and decided to read up on that door. His mind couldn't wander from it and his new found interest seemed to be much more harmless than the last.

Halfway through the third book, and after finding nothing, the sun seeped through the shelves. It didnt bother Dipper though, his eyes were already heavy and he couldnt help but doze off. His dreaming filled with odd shaped and a light golden eye. It was a warm presence with a hidden shadow in the stare. 

 


	7. A clear mind, a clear conscience

The evening sun lit up the dust particles in the old building. Dipper was buried deep in a book, searching for the answers he wanted. No matter how many books he looked through, nothing said anything about a door. He checked Gravity Falls history, Lore, and even old stories. He knew where he would find his answers though, but he felt guilt gnaw in his gut every time he thought about it.

 They had done nothing wrong and yet he had lashed out. He knew that they were both just worried about him. He had been blinded by both anger and exhaustion. There were also other things he wanted to ask but he felt as if they wouldn't really tell him anything at this point. 

Dipper closed the book he was working on and sighed. It was warm in the book store. The sunlight had warmed the air and such a small space was easy for everything to turn a glowing warmth. His legs didnt feel like moving, but he resisted the urge to sit any longer. He felt so safe in the small book haven. It was an odd sensation of home and trust. But Dipper couldnt procrastinate any longer, and if he was he might as well start walking back.

When he got up, his muscles ached in ways he forgot existed. He had ran pretty hard in such an uneven terrain. His skin was littered with small scratches and bruises from pushing through the under brush, though they didnt seem to bad now that he looked at them. He was sure he had gotten much worse scratches, but in the light they seemed shallow and harmless. It was just like his side scratch, worse than it felt.

There was still no one in sight in the small store. No sound but the shallow creeks under foot from the old floor boards. When he walked to the door he noticed that it was locked. He had no memory of locking it when he got here, so he assumed that there was indeed someone who ran the store. He carefully unlocked the door, seeing as the door was very old and seemed like it would break in the slightest of wrong move.

Outside really showed that it was summer. It was much warmer than inside and calls of the summer insects came from every plant life on the street. It was a little past lunch and the sky was clear from any sign of rain. The wind was still and luckily the buildings lining the road gave shade. The streets were somewhat full of peoples daily lifes. He walked past an old but remodeled arcade that was busy with people of all ages.

Dipper couldnt help but wonder if Mabel was worrying about him and the thought only urged him farther along the path back to the church. He had to face his Grunkles one way or another and it would be better to get it over with than let the stress muster. 

Dipper let his feet go at their own pace and put most of his focus on the small stone being kicked just out of reach. A lot of things had happened during the past week and he never really had time to think about what was going on. Turns out his Grunkles were demon fighting priests. There was obviously something going on in the town and Dipper really wanted to know what it was. His mind swam with a million different questions but he knew only a few of them would get answered. His thoughts trailed back to the door. The design and over all picture of it stuck to him like glue. Never in his life had he been so stuck on something, and that only urged him on more. 

He had found that his path started going upwards and when he looked, the cliff of a hill stalled him. But it wasnt really a movement thing, well it was since he felt like he had rolled down a cliff, but this was more of a 'not wanting to face angry people and stressed sister at the moment' type of thing. His eyes were heavy though and feeling a real bed instead of books sounded like bliss. He was half way up and felt the burning in his calves, which he focused on more. It helped him keep distracted.  

When he got to the top, the cart was gone. The truck was still in bumpy shape, but it was up there. How you may wonder? The world may never know how anything got up that hill. But what stood was that the working vehicle was gone, and all he hoped was that everyone went. Dipper's stomach did flips as he got to the door leading to the kitchen. The same kitchen he had told Ford and Stan to buzz off. Well he didnt, but he might as well have.

The door gave a loud creak that made him wince. When he opened up the door it was dark but when he walked through the door he heard the T.V. He was careful in the hall but a loud creek in the wood made him pause, along with whoever was watching their show. It was no mystery when loud foot steps ran up to him and practically knocked him over. The grip didnt light when he sat up with the mystery person in his lap.

"They said you had ran away into the woods! They said you couldve been hurt Dipper!" It was a light wavering voice and Mabel had tears pulling at the corners of her eyes. She never let go though, keeping a tight grip on him as if he would disapear any moment. 

"Mabel im fine, I was just a bit mad." Dipper gave off an awkward chuckle to try and lighten the mood, but it was already too deep.

"You were gone all night! Stan and Ford have been looking for you since like, 3:00 this morning!" Mabels voice cracked and her breath was quivering. It broke his heart seeing her like this. Guilt chewed at his cheeks.

"Im sorry Mabel, I wont do it again. But hey! Im back am I not?" Dipper started to pet Mabels head in hopes to calm her down. It seemed to work but she never let go. He didnt know what his Grunkles told her, but it sure stressed her out none the less. He wanted to blame them, but the fault was only ever his own. 

"Lets go sit on the couch and wait for them okay?" Dipper lifted her up the best he could, dragging her slightly to where the couch was and plopped her down next to him. She seemed to fall asleep immediately  and her eyes held dark circles. She might have stayed up all night, at first with her friend, but then of worry. He wasnt really ready to face his Grunkles, but he was now anchored to the couch. He wanted to doze off, but sleep never came. No matter how hard he tried to sleep he couldnt, stress tugging at his mind.

Dipper watched T.V for about an hour before he hear the click of the door. He didnt move, but he did tense up. Not wanting to wake up Mabel, Dipper gently placed her beside him onto the couch where she lay asleep and  sat up. He's rather wait for it than go it and all he hoped for was that his Grunkles headed straight for their rooms instead of checking up on Mabel. But it would be stupid to wish for something so impossible. He heard a pair of foot steps walk to the living room and kept his eyes on the screen. The steps stopped in the door way and let out a sigh. Dipper didnt know what would happen  next but was glad to find the person walking away, most likely to tell the other that he was safe. 

The short relaxing moment didnt last long as two people started walking to the living room. Dipper turned the T.V off and stretched. He might as well get comfortable. All he hoped was that it wouldnt turn into another fight. Before he knew it both his Grunkles were there, sitting down in their own chairs. It was quiet and all that he could hear was Mabels soft breathing. He wanted to keep it that way, fearing that if she found out what was going it would only worry her more.

Dipper closed his eyes for a moment, puzzling his thoughts together before taking a deep breath. 

"Im sorry for yelling, and stuff." Anxious feelings bubbled in Dippers stomach, threatening to blow his calm cover.

"I am too. I mean, Im sorry too, for yelling and stuff." Ford seemed to be in an awkward spot as well, fiddling his fingers and looking at the ground. "We were just tired and incredibly worried about you."

"I know you are, but keeping secrets from us isn't really the best way to go about it." Dipper regretted saying 'us' but didn't want to sound selfish in his actions. They were selfish, but he refused to see it that way and brushed it off as nothing more than curiosity. But in the back of his mind he knew that the hunger for adventure is what really urged him onward. 

"I realize that now but thats not what me and Ford are really worried about right now." Stan chimed in, his face held a seriousness that made Dipper dread some more. If he was going to get into trouble, at least it was only him.

"We want to know if your alright, both physically and emotionally. When we were in the woods, fighting Lena, we went to check out where she had shot her final shot and found a lot of blood."

"Yeah, like the type of blood where a person is dead type of blood."

"Thank you Stan, im sure that wasnt clear." Stan glared at Ford but for returned nothing but an eye roll.

"If you need medical attention then its nothing to hide." Ford and Stan were both emitting a feeling of worry and it only added to the guilt Dipper felt. He had been nothing but a coward for running away from his problems and all of this could have been resolved faster if he had just talked to them. But that would have been too easy and Dipper just  _loved_ difficulty when it came to social communication.

"I just got a light scratch, it just bled a lot but wasnt deep enough to actually do anything." Dipper chewed at his lip, avoiding eye contact at all costs.

"And what about mental issues, nightmares, panic attacks, uhh occasional weird visions?" Stans questions put Dipper a bit off. He had been having weird dreams but it was never nightmares. And weird dreams were a normal thing since a lot has happened.

"No, nothing that I can think of. Panic attacks are not new to me so ive gotten moslty use to them. Ive been tired though."  Ford and Stan seemed to relax a bit, making Dipper give a questioning look.

"Usually those are the signs of a curse and the last thing we need is for you to be cursed." Stan added in. It did make Dipper a tad happy knowing that the small wall between them, keeping secrets, had been broken down.

"What do you mean curse?" A small voice from beside Dipper made them all tense up. When he looked beside him Mabel's eyes were wide, not with shock or fear, but of wonder and excitement. And that made Dipper more worried than if it were from fear.

"Nothing too serious just-"

"Nothing too serious? Are you kidding me? Being cursed doesnt sound so casual to me." Mabel was now sitting up, fully tied into the conversation.  Ford, Stan, and Dipper all gave a sigh. Things had turned 90% more problematic. This was the last thing Dipper wanted, but seeing as how he was getting everything he didnt want, he wasnt surprised.

"Okay, Okay. We might as well tell you everything. But please, keep all questions until after I finish talking. okay?" Ford looked at both of them with a raised eyebrow, leading to Dipper and Mabel nodding fervently.

"Okay, so...

Me and your Grunkle Stan work as full time exorcists. As you know exorcists destroy and banish demons, but me and Stan go over a wider variety than that. We go over a bigger category than that, such as Demi-Gods, gnomes, mermaids, elves, faries, trolls, witches, centaurs, magical animals, bug people, snake people, bird people, land spirits, water spirits, and so on. Its mostly with whatever is in this town and its land. The forests here hold much more than any place on the world and ive decided to take up the job at figuring out why. Stan is just here because he has no where else to go and not going to lie, its quite fun doing this job. But it is also VERY dangerous. This isnt some joke, its the real deal. After all the years ive been working on this land ive been starting to see a change in the behavior of the creatures of the land. For the past several months ive been trying to figure out what has been going on.

Ive asked around everywhere, studied different reactions from the wildlife to other things, interrogated many many demons and have asked many gods for help. But we havent been able to find anything."

"Until recently when we had asked a certain elven group to the south where they said that a witches soul had been resurrected and split into several pieces."

"Thank you Stan, again" They both glared at each other before Ford cleared his throat.

"We had asked why but got no response until we found a tribe of nagas that had said that a group of demons had been messing around with a sacred book. we searched more and found that it was worse than we had imagined. They plan to bring back an evil far greater than anything ive seen. But they need a piece of the witches soul to do so."

"So we've been trying to get there before them. It is also why you have to stay away from everything."

"Thank you Stan. Yet again you interrupt me." Ford sighed and rubbed his eyes. 

"Well im older so I dont really need to listen to you."

"Stan, we're twins." Ford and Stan started bickering, leaving Mabel and Dipper to sit and process everything. 

"MERMAIDS EXIST!?" Mabel got up and stared at Dipper with twinkling eyes before snapping out of it and sat down. "Sorry, a girls fantasy just came true."

"If its so important, cant we help. You've already told us and now we're more interested than ever." Dipper wanted to get involved more than anything. Who wouldnt? It was the perfect summer adventure that he and Mabel had been craving. He didnt fully support the idea of Mabel getting involved, but none the less he was excited. 

"We'll think about it, but please, stay out of trouble for now." Stan gave a grunt as he stretched and started walking out of the room. Mabel followed, offering to make lunch, only to earn a couple a groans in protest.  But before Ford could leave Dipper stopped him.

"He Grunkle Ford, ive been meaning to ask you something. I found something weird in the woods and wanted to know what it was." Ford gave a concerned look before turning fully to Dipper.

"I found this weird door thing-" Before he could say anymore, Ford stopped him with wide eyes.

"Dipper, if you have found what I think you found, you must promise me to never go there again." Fords tone was sharp and serious.

"But wha-"

"Its something that holds an evil worse than that of lucifer himself. A Demon God with insane power and just as an insane mind. I beg of you to never seek anything out of the sort. You must promise me." Ford held Dippers shoulders and gave him a stare that could pierce a brick wall. All he could do was nod before Ford let him go and gave a gasp of relaxation. 

Ford left Dipper to himself, and all Dipper could think about was the unique swirls and decor of the door. He had felt no hostility from it, but it was indeed uncomfortable. Even if Ford had told him it was fine, he would never go to it on free will.


	8. Back on the Road

The morning was warm with the summer heat already rolling in with the clouds. The air was crisp even with the heat creeping up. It was a chill that made your lungs feel icy and any sudden wind would make you shiver.

"A great day for witch hunting if you ask me!" Stan gave of a hearty laugh before getting back to shoving what looked like knives into a bag.

"Great way to ruin the atmosphere Grunkle Stan" Mabel mocked. 

"Oi, dont give me attitude young lady, For your information I am the money handler on this trip and if you want that ice cream I was going to get you."

"Of course Grunkle Stan, you are the best Grunkle I have EVER had, well actually your one of the only Grunkles I have, But that means nothing cause you are the best at it!"

It was like watching a family movie from a distance and Dipper couldnt help but smile. It was such a warm moment despite the fact that they were going to go out and kill witches, or at least pieces of a witch or something. By the time they were finished packing whatever they needed it was already an uncomfortable hot. Not sweltering but enough to make your spine sweat. It didnt help that the truck could barely hold three people, let alone four. The truck was still bent up and out of shape, a door missing replaced by what seemed to be a metal bar.

"We need some sort of safety so that we dont get pulled over." Is what Stan had said. It looked safe from the right angle, but the thing wouldnt hold the weight of a small horse. Dipper Tried not to lean on it too much but with the vehicle being over packed it was somewhat difficult. 

"Where are we even headed! And why didnt one or two of us sit in the back of the truck!" Dipper felt the looming edge of the seat right next to him. threatening to send him rolling onto the cracked croncrete that made up most of the towns roads.

"Because that is more illegal than having no door. You and Mabel can move to the back once we're out of town. We cant be pulled over with the cargo we're holding." Ford had a map awkwardly opened while Stan drove. The map seemed to be quite old and Dipper felt a dip of uncertainty. He had been in the woods sure, but by the sound of it they were going pretty deep this time. 

The buildings got thinner as they made their way to the exit of Gravity falls. Excitement and a bit of fear both help Mabel and Dipper. An adventure meant, well adventure, but it also meant dangers of the unknown. Dipper was mostly worried about the unknown part, but Mabel seemed to just be filled with excitement. Her sweater of choice was a dark purple one with a star. She had said she wanted one of her least favorites to go out adventuring in. 

When they got to the sign leading out of Gravity Falls, Dipper and Mabel got out and jumped into the back of the truck. The metal was hot so the both had to sit sort awkwardly, trying to avoid contact with the solid magma. But even then, it was so much better than sitting in the truck in each others personal space.  The wind also felt nice, hot or not.  

The shade of the trees that passed were also pretty nice. The air was filled with bird song, lifting the vibe up a few notches. Dipper leaned onto the side of the truck, using his hat as a shield for his arm and stared at the road rolling past. It was a picture perfect moment.

They turned off the main road onto a dirt road. It was bumpy, but not too bumpy. Branched threatened to swiped at them, but were always just too short to reach. The trees opened up to a small field filled with wild flora and insects. The truck made its way through the plants, following an overgrown path. When Dipper turned to Mabel she was in wonder. Her eyes were filled with happiness and seemed to be taking in the fresh air.

When they got the the other side  of the opening the crew was greeted by a looming mountain, that didnt seem to be there a moment ago. They all got out of the truck and stood in front of the towering cliff. A thin train lead all the way up, winding up and through the rocks. 

"Uh, Grunkle Ford, why is there a mountain here?" Dipper looked up, covering his eyes from the sun that just barely peaked over the edge. 

"Well, ill assume you mean why theres a mountain here that wasnt here and I wont need to go into detail of how mountains are made. This is the mountain of trolls, who are very intelligent creatures despite what books say. Its hidden by magic so that troll hunters dont get to them."

"Troll hunters?" Mabel raised an eyebrow and looked at Ford with concern. "Grunkle Ford, we're not here to.."

"No, no of course not. Troll hunters are deceived by the myth that if you have troll blood you can do a ritual to obtain immortality, but that was just a ruse some centuries ago to try and get rid of them since some of the more social ones would destroy crops to try and build tunnels. They dig tunnels to expand their nest. They are basically like bee's, with a queen and such. But since they dig so many tunnels they also know more about this town that anyone of us could ever know. I could only figure out a couple of the locations of where Lena could be, but  some of the others are proving to be complicated."

"Everyone put on your gear, I want to finish this before it gets dark." Stan yelled from the truck and waved them over. Walking over, Dipper looked back up at the mountain and felt his stomach do a flip. He's never had a problem with heights but this was a bit more that just heights in his book. Shoving on the studded shoes and grabbing a walking stick he walked to the edge of the path. The hill at the church had nothing on this, as it being practically a cliff. 

"Last one there cleans the bathroom!" Mabel rushed past him and started climbing, clambering over rocks and over an edge out of sight.

"Hey, get back here Mabel your Grunkles are old! We cant climb that fast!" Stan was scrambling after her, taking his time instead of speed running it like Mabel had done. 

"Guess we better get going huh?" Ford patted Dippers shoulder before heading up the cliff at his own pace. Dipper stalled for only a couple more seconds before heading up. It was worse than he had thought and could feel his legs scream at each rock he climbed over.  When the path finally evened out it only made Dipper want the rocks back. The path turned thinner, forcing you to hug the wall or fall to your doom. The rest of the party was pretty far ahead and made him hurry up a bit. 

An old rope clung to the wall of rock, only supported by loops of iron. It may have been there to help, but Dipper knew better than that and could tell that it was there for mostly a false sense of security. The rope was too old to actually hold anything of his weight if he were to fall and the best that it would do is give him rope burns on his way down. 

Dipper had never clung to something so hard as he did with the rock wall. The path was no thicker than a foot and sloped down a bit. He forced himself not to look down, knowing that it would only make things worse than it already was. He forced himself to quicken his pace, seeing that the other three had turned the corner, leaving him with a fall that would leave his death to be a mystery. 

He saw the turn which lead into a cave. It made him breathe a bit, knowing it was almost over. When he got to the entrance his foot slipped a bit, giving his heart a run for its money and made Dipper scramble into the cave. He shakily stood up and walked deeper, standing in front of a set of several caves. He had been left behind a bit and had no idea which cave he should go through. His anxiety made a motion, swelling his head with doubt and stress. A tug pulled him a bit, almost like a warm hand gripping at his soul. He went through a cave, greeted by the light of a torch.

"Dipper dont fall behind so much, you had me worried there for a second." Ford pushed Dipper forward to the group and lead him into what seemed to be a larger cave. Larger wasnt even the word for it. It seemed to carve the entire mountain. Large mound looking things seemed to take shape as hut, lining the edges of the cave walls, stretching into more and more tunnels. There were small creatures that almost seemed like rocks walking around. One of them walked up to the group with round dull gray eyes. It was about half the size of a grown man his thick arms and a thin torso. They seemed to differ in head shape and skin tint but everything else seemed mostly identical. The one that had walked up to the group stopped in front of Ford and said something in a different language, but Ford just nodded and beckoned the rest of the group to follow. 

The cave walls were carved into a more hall like manner with torches lining the walls. It was by no means cave like and gave off more of a home vibe. The hall lead into another large room, but this seeming more like a lobby than anything. There were several other halls in the room, leading to who knows where. 

"Wow, this is like that one room from harry potter, like when they went to the bank. Its huge!" Mabel bounced around happily taking in as much as humanly possibly.

"Hush kiddo, that could be borderline copy right. This is the main room that leads to the main branches of the royal resources, or something." Stan looked down for a moment, thinking it over.

"This is the area in which they hold the main sources of power. The Branch of Science, Police, Social, and Crown." Ford didnt even bother looking at them, focusing on the task at hand. "I havent written in this language in a while.... Im a bit rusty." He seemed to be writing out a form of some sort. They all sat down a couch which seemed to be too small for a normal sized human. Mabel was able to get comfortable but that was only because she was the smallest out the group. 

After about twenty minutes a troll came up to the group and said something to Ford, in which Ford motioned for the group to follow. They went down a long hall way like the rest, but this time the hall walls were covered up in some painting of trolls. They found there way to yet another room which mostly looked like office's. They all walked to the back which held a larger office with glass walls. overlooking the rest of them. 

A taller, thinner troll came up to the group and turned to Ford. They exchanged words before Ford opened up his bag and brought out a map and several other papers. The two of them soon got entranced by their work while Stan seemed to have taken to a couch and stared of into space. Mabel was over watching Ford and the troll with wide eyes. She seemed to be more interested in what they were saying more than what they were doing. 

Dipper didnt want to wander off too far, but something next to the office caught his eye. It was a doorway which lead to what seemed to be library. He doubted they had anything in English but that didnt stop him from wandering off toward that direction. No one seemed to have noticed him leave and as he slipped into the room his eyes immediately went to the window. No where in the entire cave was there a window, but there was one right there, giving off the sunlight of dusk. The room was dusty, each breath he made tickling his nostrils. 

A troll walked up to Dipper, startling him a bit but only making him just slightly. The troll has lightened skin, with foggy white eyes. It seemed skinnier than the others, and its small hands shook lightly. Panic gnawed at Dipper, he had no idea how to speak troll and he really doubted that he could learn in a matter of seconds. But what surprised him was that the words that came out of it, was something he understood. 

"My, what a  young human child." Its voice was soft, but weak. Almost like an old peach in the hot sun. It motioned to the side, where a couch sat in wait. 

"You have many questions, most are not for me but I can answer some that seem to be unanswerable." The troll kept looking forward, its foggy eyes finally making sense.

"Can I ask how you know English?" Dipper didnt want to seem rude, but it was right. He had millions of questions, big or small. But the troll gave a light laugh.

"I know many languages from my past years, many of which have been lost. Now it is my job to oversee this place." It motioned to the library. "Or at least as much as I can see." It gave off another gentle chuckle. 

"Im sorry, I dont want to seem rude, but I dont know which questions I should ask." Most of Dippers wonders were held elsewhere. 

"Then I will answer one that you may not even know you have." The troll turned to Dipper, staring at him. No, staring through him almost. "As the seer, I have the ability to glimpse into the future, if only for a moment. But I can not do it without your word." He thought for a moment, looking over his choices. Dipper had never been one to decline the chance for knowledge, but he never interfered with the motion of time. It always scared him to think about his future normally, actually knowing might be the final K.O for him.

"Uh, sure. Why not." He turned his body toward the troll and looked at it nervously. "Take hold of my hands, child." 

Dipper carefully placed his hands on the others. Its skin was cold and smooth. Almost like a stone from a river.

"I see darkness, and feel fear. A room shrouded in shadow with tendrils of evil gripping at the walls, but there is love at the center." The troll paused for a moment before looking down. "Your future hold dificulty, but you will get through it."

A knock at the door made Dipper jump a bit, making him turn around to Mabel in the door way. "Sorry to bother you bro bro, but Ford says we have to leave like, asap." Mabel looked at Dipper then to the troll questioningly.

"Okay, thank you for uh, reading my future. I dont really have anything to give in return though." Dipper stood up stepped back a bit. 

"I dont need anything, I did it out of wonder not business." The troll said nothing else, turning back the shelves of the library. 

"Come on, Grunkle Ford said like, right now. I dont want him to get mad again. Last time he made us clean his office." The memory made Dipper dread a bit. The place was filled with just junk and Ford was kind of a stuff hoarder.  Meaning it was kind of hard for him to throw things away. 

Ford and Stan were waiting in front of the office, Ford still talking to the Troll while Stan was messing with his watch. Mabel ran up to them while Dipper trailed behind. He thought over what he had just been told. He never really had any interest in his future except the future of his career. The words spooked him a bit. Knowing that something was going to happen tends to startle someone, but he decided that it was best to push it to the back of his mind. 

"Well kids, turns out we are going to be staying out for a while. We're heading back to the truck." Stan turned his attention to them and shuffled a bit close.

"This place has the worst beds you could ever imagine, so we're taking camp in the truck." Stan stood back up and quickly looked around. The trolls couldnt understand them, but for some reason Stan seemed to fear the thought of saying it out loud.

"Wait, you mean we have to climb back down." Dipper visibly shrunk, dread washing over him. His legs were already sore from the first trip up, and the trip down was almost always worse. 

"Dont worry. its not as bad as it seems." Stan gave a laugh and hit Dipper on his shoulder. All that could escape Dipper was a half hearted chuckle. The all followed Ford and the Troll, both of them seeming to be discussing something important. Dipper turned his attention back to the nicely decorated walls. The paintings seemed to have changes, but that might have been because they were walking the opposite way. Still, something gave him the creeps about the paintings, they way they stared into your soul with never blinking eyes. Dipper had always had a hateful view toward portraits, it wasnt the art or anything, but something about the way they were portrayed gave him the shivers.

When they finally got to the exit of the cave, the huge room was much more busy than before. Hundreds of trolls walking around in and out of the huts.

"The trolls are nocturnal, they dont really have a sense of time seeing as they live in caves, but when they do leave the cave it tends to be night. Its softer on their eyes." Ford walked up next to Dipper, who was admiring the bustling group of trolls.

When they headed back out through the exit, the hole to outside was dark and the only light source was a sky stuffed with stars. Each of them took their time on the path, the darkness making it difficult to see anything. Dipper went last yet again, this time not rushing to the end and instead took steady steps. He was glad to find that Grunkle Stan was right, and the way back was much easier.   

Most of the path was downhill so sliding down the path was much easier than climbing it. The thin little piece of land that made the path at the cave entrance was still a pain, but Dipper felt more comfortable going down hill than up. The field at the bottom was glowing with a sea of glittering bugs. At a closer glance, some of the small light bug creatures werent so bug like. Dipper was going to ask about them before he saw that Mabel and Stan were literally making camp in the middle of the field. 

"I mean, I know you said that the trolls had uncomfortable beds, but does this really seem any better?" Dipper walked up to the group, a bit out of breath but much better than before. 

"You haven't even tried sleeping on their beds kid. They are a creature made of rock and you expect their beds to be some sort of soft cloud? Sorry, but no it was not it was indeed rocks and I dont think you want to sleep on rock beds any more than I do." Stan a shrug before going back to setting up some sleeping bags. Dipper remembered being told to pack one, but he didn't realize that they meant they were going to sleep outside. He had nothing against sleeping outside, actually most of his summers were outside, but the amount of strange magical creatures around them made him feel uneasy.

"I think this is great! Look at all those stars! Look Dipper, there's even your sign!" Mabel excitedly pointed at the constellation that spawned his nick name. He felt no ill-will toward the stars, but he couldn't help but dread his odd birthmark.

Dipper chose a spot close to the truck, the grass around him giving off an odd glow. The trees that edged the field of lights and grass created shadows along the skyline. Dipper dared not to look over at the shadows, feeling uneasy in the wide of space. He could help but feel eyes burn on him. The glare wasnt in anyway a threat, but more of an observant. None the less it made Dipper's skin crawl. After everything that has happened he couldn't help but be on edge. 

When he closed his eyes, he felt far from comfortable. The ground wasn't too hard but the glowing creatures that tended to the flowers beside him made bright lights, making him groan in acceptance. It would be a long night.


	9. More Cliffs and Witches

The morning was as bad as Dipper could have imagined. He did get some sleep, but every few hours he would awaken and silently hit himself at the sunless sky. The orb of light climbed over the horizon, barely making the sky the light blue hue that it normally is, indicating that the crack of dawn was upon them. Stan and Ford were already packing up, rolling up the sleeping bags and throwing them back into the truck. Mabel was a morning person, but this was earlier than morning. Her eyes were half closed still and her hair was full of flower petals from where she wiggled out of her sleeping bag. The sleepless night was still tugging at Dippers stamina supply but he forced himself to get up and throw his sleeping bag along with the rest.

"Sorry kids, climbing a mountain will take a while and I want to at least get half way there before sun down." The thought of climbing another mountain made Dippers bones feel heavy. All he wanted to do was curl up in a hole some where and sleep for an eternity. They all got in the truck, Dipper and Mabel climbing into the back of the truck. They set off, the road shaking and throwing the truck around. It would have been unpleasant, but the heaviness of Dippers eyes got the better of him and the rocking of the truck just felt all the more relaxing. The morning air was turning more day, the dew clinging to the moisture in the air. It made His nose sting with the cold and the wind from movement was all the more freezing, but it was a pleasant cold. 

The stars were starting to fade and white clouds took their place. They were fluffy and light, meaning rain was not of concern. Dipper watched as the sky turned all the way blue, tree branches brushing across the skyline. Mabel was fast asleep beside him, snoring lightly. For some reason, Dipper felt more relaxed than he had ever been. He could feel a rock behind the lightness in his heart however. The pending events of today or tomorrow was edging at his mind. Killing Lena would be tough, and a bit emotional. And the pending doom to the world if they didnt get at least one of her souls was heavy on his shoulders. 

Before he knew it he was asleep, his dreams swirling with colors beyond imagination, fueled by the lack of sleep from before. It turned much more pleasant when his skin turned warmed by the sun. When he awoke his eye lids were orange, the veins in them showing clearly against the sheer rays from the sun. When Dipper sat up, they were still driving, but the surroundings were much different than from before. The Dirt road they were on before was thickly overgrown, entangling into the wheels of the truck. The leaves of the trees were thick with life, making the landscape around them hard to see. The sun was straight up above them, signaling the passing of time had been about 4 hours. Mabel curled up beside him comfortably, murmuring in her dream filled slumber. 

Dipper knocked on the small window on the back of the truck, "Are we almost there?" His throat was dry, his words a bit foggy.

"Almost, we got lost along the way because  _somebody_ was holding the map upside down." Stan said with a roll of his eyes.

"It was you. You were the one holding the map." Ford never took his eyes off the road, his voice monotone.

"Yeah well you never noticed it so its both our fault." They both seemed to be tired, the atmosphere turning a bit thick.

Dipper sat back down, yawning while soaking in the sun. The hot summer heat wave was becoming more and more noticeable. Dipper regretted wearing his vest for once, his shirt sticking to his back. He had to be careful where he moved, the unforgiving rays of sunlight baking the metal of the truck bed to burning degrees. Mabel had it easy, sitting on the shady side of the truck. He had woken up after another half our of sleeping. 

"You know, you can sit over here if your really hating it you big whiny butt." She mocked, but Dipper was content of sticking it out, out of spite. 

"Im fine, im just saying that summer is going to be pretty hot this year." Dipper leaned back, placing his arm on the side of the truck, instantly regretting it as the metal scorched his under arm. He quickly placed it back into his lap, poking at the sensitive skin. 

"Okay kids we're here!" The truck halted to a stop, finding themselves in a glade filled with grass and rocks. A hill lead upwards and slowly turned into yet another mountain, the top reaching all the way up to the clouds. 

"Are we going to meet more rock people!" Mabel bounced happily.

"Are we going to have to climb yet another mountain." Dipper groaned, a lot less happily.

Stan and Ford got out of the car, Ford taking the map from Stan. "Chillaxe kiddos, I think ive had enough of rock munchkins for a while and we're getting too old to climb more than one cliff a century." Stan reassured them, grabbing a bag out of the back. 

"Now, we want you two to stay with the truck while me and Stan go up to the Sun pool." Ford said, grabbing the other pack. 

"Whaaat, but it sounds so cool. Me and Dipper would be really good and sit back." Mabel frowned, running up to Ford and pouting.

"No,  its way too dangerous. And its much more dangerous than we had ever hoped so ever since we discovered theres a third party in on this." Ford waved her off, shoving a couple of booking into the already stuffed back packs. 

"But this is a learning experience, and we both know that Dipper will just run off and join you anyways." Dipper glared at Mabel for her distrust, buy didnt say anything because he knew himself too well.

"And wouldnt it be better if you  _knew_ we were there and conscience of our existence." Mabel flailed her arms, expressing her passion and dismay.

"Cmon Ford, dont be a stick in the mud. We both have been doing this since the dawn of time." Stan defended her, placing his hand on her shoulder and pouted with her. "And hey, we might need all the help we can  get." Ford rubbed the bridge of his nose, his glasses pressing onto his for head.

"If they get hurt it will be on you and you will have to talk to their parents yourself." Ford frowned more, grumbling to himself. All three of the other cheered happily. 

Dipper and Mabel grabbed their bags and followed Stan and Ford. They walked up the hill and followed the cliff, the hill tuning steeper and steeper. The cliff soon rounded off into a corner, the pathway turning a tiny bit thinner. Not as thin as the pathway as before, but still pretty thin. The fall below dropped into a fast running river, and over all everything here was beautiful.  

The only thing lacking from such a wonderful and light scene was, life. There wasnt a single bird song or the croak of a frog. The air was still with silence, the only thing breaking it was the sound of the river below. The lack of wild life gave everything an empty feeling. Like a picture almost, everything still where it was. Dipper held onto the steep slope beside him, looking up to where it stretched. He could just barely see white, either from clouds or snow. He knew Oregon was filled with volcanoes and mountains, but he had never seen these types of land formations. He couldnt tell if it was hidden by some sort of magic, or just stashed away by its mountain brothers. 

The path widened out and they were soon surrounded by another clearing of grass. But instead of rocks being scattered into the grass, there were pools of water. The sun was now infront of them, illuminating the landscape they were on. The pools almost looked as if they were made of gold, reflecting the harsh sun's rays, making the walls of rock shine. Walking forward a bit more sat a much larger pool. It had tiles of design in the center of it, drawing the picture of a golden sun. It had algae crammed into the cracks of the tile, indicating that this place was much older than it looked. 

The pool had a flat rock going out into it, almost like a stage. This is where Stan and Ford both threw down their bags, unpacking a couple of questionable items. A pumpkin was the most spawn of confusion but he trusted his grunkles at this point. 

"Alright children, we need you to go behind, that rock." Ford pointed to a large bolder sitting at the entrance where they just had entered from.

"Grunkle Ford, where are we?" Mabel gazed around the hidden clearing, obviously awed by the sight.

"The Sun pool, built by nomads ages ago. A goddess of light use to live here but is long gone now ever since, uh,  _he_ showed up. Actually, im pretty sure all the gods and goddess' have left since then. But that doesnt matter, when the sun is in align with the pool the next part of Lena should show up. Or at least I hope so." Ford's brows furrowed in thought, concern printed onto his face.

"If those bastards hadnt gotten her soul fragment already this should be a piece of cake." Stan laughed to himself, taking out what looked like a shotgun, but instead with hand carved symbols marked into the wood of the handle.

"What happens if they already got it?" Dipper questioned, leaning on the rock wall and letting his tired feet rest.

"Well you saw what happened to the one in the woods didnt you? The fragment get enraged and loses all control of their emotions. If they did get it, the fragment of love would turn to the fragment of pain." Ford took out an old leather book, a golden hand with six fingers on the from. It seemed to be stained with various things by the look of it. 

"Dont we need to only get one though? Wouldnt that be easy? Just go for the last one and then there wouldnt need to be such a rush." Mabel sat on the grass, placing her face into her hands.

"It would be easy, but sadly the final one is like a final boss. Doesnt appear until all the others are gone. And what im worried about is that, if this one is taken itll mean we're the ones behind." Ford closed the book, facing the two of them. "Now get behind that rock, its almost time." Dipper and Mabel both got up and slid behind the rock, peaking out from behind it barely. 

Almost as if on cue, the pool started glowing up to a blinding light. Dipper had to squint his eyes, barely being able to make out a humanoid figure within the light. As the light faded a familiar face appeared. Lena stood in front of them, wearing what she wore when he had seen her before. But she didnt look exactly the same. Instead her skin was stained with black veins. The lines were as black as ink, leading all the way to her heart, which in place of where it should have been was nothing but a black hole. Dipper was struck with confusion until he hear Ford yell to them. 

"It was a trap! Fuck!" Before another word could be said the air was filled with a high pitch screech, making Dipper press his hands against his ears and grit his teeth. White light filled the clearing, sharp shards of electricity scattering into the air. When the noise disappeared he could hear the sounds of guns shots and what sounded like Fords voice yelling. But Dippers ears were ringing and his head fuzzy. Looking around gave him a headache and he felt as if he was going to pass out. Suddenly a warm feeling spread throughout him, steadying him and clearing his ears. Dipper looked to Mabel who was on the ground, passed out. He wanted to worry but was distracted by the loud noises coming from behind him. He peaked over the edge the best he could without drawing attention.

Lena was in the center of it all. Her facial features wrought with pain. Spirals and strips of white streaked around her. It seemed almost as if her was shattering. The veins of black was spreading, marking her skin pure black. It was spreading from her hands, quickly running up her arms. Stan was shooting bright yellow bullets from the shotgun. Each shot shattered a piece of the white, breaking the shield that was protecting her. Stan was quickly drawing on a piece of paper, all Dipper could see was that it was a circle. 

Dipper could hear his heartbeat thrumming against his chest, his palms sweaty against the rock. He wished dearly that it was fear, but that wasnt the feeling he was getting. It was excitement. The thrill started a stream of adrenaline to spread into his body. His breath was shaky, making him self conscience of his breathing. Ford seemed to have finished the drawing, throwing it into the air. What followed was a blue wall made out of what looked like jello. But Dipper knew better than that, guessing it was some sort of barrier. 

The next thing he knew, Lena was completely inky black. Stan had stopped shooting, Ford pulling him being the wall. Dipper got the cue, ducking behind the rock. Blackness filled the air, the scraping noise returning. It wasnt as bad as before but it still made Dipper wince and cover his ears. When the air stilled, and he had opened his eyes, the wall he was looking at was charred. After shaking off the chill he felt, Dipper peaked over once again. The entire room before him was stained a void black. The only thing spared was what was behind Fords shield. Ford and Stan looked as if they were regaining their senses. The water was no longer clear and reflective, but pitch black. The once beautiful scene was now decimated into a black wasteland.

Ford stood up, walking over to the rock where Dipper and Mabel were hiding. 

"You guys okay?" He still seemed a bit out of it, but generally okay,

"Yeah, but Mabel is out of it. What was that Grunkle Ford?" Dipper stood up, fully being able to see the extent of the damage.

"It seems that they did get here before us, and set a trap. They planted a bomb into the fragment and left her here. Its the most evil thing you could do." Fords voice was thick with disgust. 

"But now we know one major thing." Stan said, walking up to the  group. "They're ahead of us, and know we're coming."

 


	10. Images Dulled

A sinking feeling in the center of Dippers gut is what pulled him out of the color filled dreams. It was the type of feeling where it left you wondering if you forgot to turn off the sink, or to flip off the hall light. It was the feeling of unfinished business, incomplete jobs, or a task failed. He had never been one to fret over completing little details of jobs, though he did like the job being finished polished and perfected. But all together, this feeling in his bones was new. It crawled under his skin, calling with a shallow, pleading voice. 

When Dipper opened his eyes, the room was silent. An eerie stale absence of sound hung heavy in the air. The air itself was still, not even the dust stirred. When he looked over to the side where his slumbering twin should be, it was empty except for an indent where she should be. Another thing he noticed in this strange state, was the lack of color. The colorful lamp that decorated their small attic room was nothing but shades of grays and whites. The dark wood floors held a dark gray, almost like the room was a black and white picture. When he stood, the floor boards welcoming creek was not there, even though it bowed with each step. 

It seemed that everything was in this state, the pictures hanging on the walls of the hall were stripped of any sign of life. The only thing with color, was himself. His hands showing the pasty yet not skin that has always been. A ringing noice filled his ears, almost like his brain wanted to fill the void of noise. Dipper felt it too, the cold being nothing but comfortable. Passing through the empty kitchen, he slipped on his shoes and headed outside. The sky was empty, not a single star. Not even the moon gave its soft light. Which was weird, because he could see as clear as day.

Dipper didnt know where he was going, but it felt as if he did, following the tugging in his stomach. He felt uncomfortable here, and he knew this wasnt normal. He wanted to guess it was a dream, but it felt so vivid. The most strange thing there was though, was the feeling of comfort. It was a forced type of comfort. The type of safe where your in a cage and yet your captor is telling you your safe. A soft hum in the back of his scalp, reassuring his place, which only set off red light for him. His hair on his arms prickled with goose bumps, wanting to be cautious of things, but failing to resist the warm growing in his chest. 

The soft crunch of leaves under his feet left no noise, only the feel. He wanted to say that there were no signals of life, but that wouldnt be true. It really caught his attention when he saw an owl in flight. Frozen in the sky, just about to dive. Almost as if time itself was holding its breath. But that didnt explain the sky, nor the lack of color. 

He had no idea where he was headed, until the scenery around him morphed into one he recognized, the trees thinning out into a small clearing. The familiar pond, the door, the tug. It was like a flash of lightning, a press of an unpause button. The forest flared to life, crickets and frogs croacking and creeking in the background. The sky went from inky black to white speckled. But not even the sense of noise and color startled him. It was the tug, he irrisistable pull at his legs, his muscles almost begging for him to walk to it. Something, someone begging his mind to go.  But Dipper was dragged back to reality, Fords words tearing through the thin layer of distraction. Fords fear, his eyes warning him to stay away. And thats just what he did. Dipper turned and bolted for it. The branches whipped past, the creatures of the night startling to silence as he passed. He felt, guilty? 

 

-=-=-=-

 

The evening sun slipped through the window, illuminating the room to a warm orange. Even with time being so late into the day, Dipper felt as if he hadnt slept in weeks. His body was heavy and sore, running at least a two miles in the middle of the night. He didnt feel just physically tired either, his heart sunk and hit the bottom of his stomach. Whatever had happened the other night, left him feeling like mud in summer. He urged himself to get up, the hunger being a huge persuasion. The room was pretty warm from the rising temperature outside, it felt nice and dried out his skin. Dipper stood up and stretched, every muscle in his body shaking with it. It loosened up his shoulders, leaving him feeling good enough to walk toward the exit. 

When Dipper got down there, it was empty. Mabel most likely had gone off on her own adventures, having made plenty new friends. There was a note stuck to the back door, implying that Ford and Stan had gone out to do something important. Leaving Dipper alone to take his sweet time with breakfast/lunch. He finally had a chance to have a decently normal meal in this household. Its not as if Dipper was a great cook or anything, but he knew how to make eggs and toast like any other person. It was a welcomed meal, his gut grumbling at its emptiness and leaving a pit. They were almost out of eggs, Dipper noting it in his mind to get later. He might as well get other supplies as well, maybe even the good type of bacon. 

Breakfast was quiet and Dipper was left to his own thoughts, the night before drifting into his thoughts. He had so many questions but in reality he felt as if he already had the answers, even if they weren't the answers he wanted. He was just happy to be out of the situation. Dipper got up and stored away ingredients he had used and slipped on his shoes. He decided against any sort of winter wear, feeling that it was going to be a terribly hot day. Pocketing his wallet Dipper walked out the door and felt the morning heat hit. It would only get worse as the day went on and Dipper didn't want to get stuck climbing the hill in the middle of 100 degree weather. 

Heading down to the book store first would be the best idea, having refrigerated groceries out too long would be disastrous, though Dipper knew that he's spend a bit too much time among the shelves. He could feel his calve muscles work as he stepped down the almost cliff. He was starting to build muscle luckily and found that it was much easier to travel the slope. The town was busy as usual, people getting on with their lives and getting ready for the day ahead. On one side of the road there seemed to be construction going on, a rare sight in a small town. It was going to be useless though, they'd need to get rid of the entirety of the road to completely fix it. The many cracks and holes that had appeared over time made the side walk uneven and messy, giving it a certain vibe.

When Dipper finally got to the small book store the sign showed in bold letters CLOSED. His heart sank at the though of having to spend most of the day doing something else. But he quickly shook that thought out of his mind, finally deciding to take a look around. There was the usual corner store along with the essentials of car repairs and thrift stores. Some odd shops appeared now and then, obviously catering to tourist's as nicknacks and glass sculptures littered the front windows. One shop in particular caught Dippers eye. It seemed to be a junk shop like the rest, but something seemed to catch his attention.

Inside was fairly nice, the temperature being relatively cold to Dipper relief. It did have many lights on the inside, the main light source being the front window, which was being discolored by the many glass and ceramic treasures. There was an old lady behind the counter at the back who paid little mind to him, focused on another lady who was older in age. Scanning over the shelves it seemed like random thinks, from wooden dolls all the way to strangely shaped silverware. But what really caught Dippers eye was a small picture frame that seemed to hold an old piece of paper. It was stained with who knows what and yellowed at the edges, but looking closer it seemed to be a talisman of some sort.

Its writing was in a metallic black,  the paint reflecting light in a small shine. The paper seemed to be old but when tears or stains touched the black mystery ink it seemed unaffected. The symbols were strange, words in a language that seemed alien lines the rim of it, bending into the center. Dipper could feel a chill grip the back of his neck as a familiar eye stared back. It seemed that the paint at the iris was darker than the other markings, and it was encased in was seemed like a triangle. Dipper had no idea what the small paper was, but he felt like it was more important than food. Mable's creations were livable for now and Dipper couldn't seem to break the eye contact of the strange symbol.

"Curious about the Cipher Talisman?" Dipper jumped and spun around to the lady, who was now right beside him. "Well, I was just curious." Dipper felt a prickle of anxiety, feeling almost as if he shouldn't be anywhere near this thing. "Ill give it to you for 5 bucks" She gave a grin and Dipper looked at her with dread. "5 dollars for a piece of paper? I feel like I could just draw one on a piece of toilet paper." He  _did_ want it, but 5 dollars was a bit much for a literal piece of paper. "Hey thats the deal. Its pretty rare seeing as its most likely the last of its kind. They say that the rest lies within hell itself, keeping in the apocalypse." Dipper wanted to brush it off, but he had a feeling that some of that wasn't all lies. "Ill pay 3.50 and that's it." Dipper grabbed his wallet out of his back pocket. "Fine, deal."

======================================================================================= 

When Dipper was heading back, picture frame under his arm, he had a feeling he shouldn't tell anyone about this. He really wanted to listen to his Grunkle Fords words, but curiosity always got the better of him. He debated on weather to show Mable or not, but decided it best not to. He didn't want to get her involve with his own stupidity.

He was walking up the hill when he felt a weight his his back and a high pitched laugh. "Guess WHO." Feminine yet  _very_ dirty hands covered his eyes. "Gah, Mable wash your hands your going to give strange eye diseases." Dipper shrugged her off and rubbed his face a bit, careful not to rub whatever grime was on his face into his eyes. "Pshh, your no fun. Me, Candy, and Grenda were out planting random seeds every where seeing as deforestation is a huge issue now a days." Mable smiled largely and matched her pace with Dipper's. "Ah yes, that's what this place needs. This lush thick woods really needs some more greenery." Dipper rolled his eyes with a thick layer of sarcasm. "Hey, its the gesture that counts!" Mable pouted a bit, running ahead to where a car sat. It was a familiar truck with all its bends and dings.

But what concerned Dipper the most was a fresh scrape that was almost the size of the truck. When they got inside they found Wendy and Stan at the table, arguing over something.

"We need to bring him to a hospital, His wounds need a professional touch. We dont know WHAT that thing had on its claws!" Wendy shouted angrily, Dipper didnt know who they were talking about, but seeing as there was a person missing from the trio, he could make a fairly good guess. "What happened, where Grunkle Ford?" Mable seemed worried, and it was growing by the second.

"Oh dont worry about it sweetie, We just went out to try and get the new soul piece. Sadly it seems that they were expecting us yet again and placed down another trap. This time it was a summon that we weren't prepared for. It took a toll on Ford after he cast a shield spell on us." Stan was rubbing his eyes, his face showing that Ford wasn't the only who was beaten up.

"And he needs medical attention! But this old coot wont do anything!" Wendy seemed more concerned than Stan, but Stan seemed a million times more exhausted.

"And what do you expect us to tell the doctor? We dont need the bastard of the government mingling with our business!" Stan was right, its not as if they would believe them in the first place. 'Hey, we're taking down witches and almost got killed by a demon trying to save the world'. Yeah, that would really help the situation at hand. 

The yelling continued as Dipper left the room, he headed for Fords room and peaked in. He saw the rise and fall of a lump on the bed, bloody bandages littering the floor along with various other things that really showed the severity of his condition. He did need medical help, but the hospital wasn't the answer. Dipper decided to leave Ford alone, closing the door with a soft click. The arguing in the other room continues, leaking out into the hallway. Dipper wasn't one for arguments, so he decided it was best to let them do their thing. 

In the attic, everything was where he had left it in the morning. Dipper placed the old picture frame on the wall side of his cot, making sure it would go unnoticed by his room partner. He didn't really like the idea of sleeping with it in the same room, but he  _was_ the one who bought it. He thought about going back out to town to grab some dinner, the groups argument surely to tear through the precious meal time. But instead Dipper decided to head down back the ladder, walking into the kitchen with angry yells and concerned counters. Dipper decided that it was his turn to cook dinner this time.


	11. The Final Piece

Ford wasnt getting better, even with the passing days his wounds were still deep and healing slowly. The group had decided to not take him to the hospital, wanting to avoid attention as long as possible. They needed more time to heal and prepare but Stan had informed them that time wasnt a thing they had. Dipper was sitting on the front porch, the cold cement seeping through his jeans and chilling his legs. The morning was new, blue light trickling over the tree tops and illuminating the parking lot in front of him. 

"Dont forget the packs, if you do your getting left behind." Stan was more stern now a days, and Dipper could tell it was from both Stress and Worry. The whole group was stiff after Ford was bed ridden. He needed help but so did the world, and it was not an easy choice to be made. 

"You okay Dipper? You seem more distant than usual?" It was Wendy, her face was soft with concern but her eyes were drooped with lack of sleep. 

"Yeah, Just worried about Ford." Dipper replied with a gentle grin. Wendy nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder with understanding. They were heading to the final place where supposedly the final soul piece was located. both Mabel and Dipper were heading on this one. With Ford staying at home they needed all hands on deck, no matter how dangerous. Stand  _was_ going to leave them home and leave with Wendy but Mabel made the argument of 'If the world ends we'd be dead anyways.' He had accepted their help begrudgingly, realizing the sad truth in the words.

"Alright everyone in the truck, we need to get there before those assholes get there before us." Wendy passed Stan with a light hit to the arm. "Dont cuss, its bad luck." Stan replied with an eye roll, getting in the truck which was now looking like a complete pile of junk. 

When the truck started it made a complaining groan, the engine wanting to give. But Stan was determined, starting the truck after the fifth or sixth try. Dipper questioned its reliability but had no say in the matter. The drive was much worse than before as well, one of the wheel obviously bent out of shape. It wasnt terrible but the way the truck swayed one way before having to be corrected was troubling. 

The morning air seemed less crisp than usual, a chill more than a refresh than anything. Even when the sun started to show its golden rays when reaching mid day, a certain cold kept to it. Before, when it was an unbearable heat you could feel yourself sweat and then it immediately evaporate. But now it was just warm, and grossly muggy.   

"Hey Dipper, you think mom and dad are okay?" Mabel was beside him, looking at the tree's above them. Her tone was empty of her usual bubbly personality. He couldnt blame her with everything that was happening.

"Yeah, I dont see why they wouldnt be." Dipper felt a bump hit underneath them, the bed of the truck being less stable than the front. He grimaced as a small mound of what seemed to be a squirrel disappeared in the distance.

"What do you think theyd think if they saw us now?" She looked at her knees this time, obviously worried about what was bound to happen in the future.

"I think theyd be proud of us, and of you." Dipper pulled her close into a hug, patting her on the shoulder. "Dont worry, everything is bound to turn out. Its like in your books right? Good always wins?" Dipper gave her the best smile he could give, even though he himself wasnt sure about what was to happen.

Mabel smile and hugged back. "Yeah, and as long as we're here to fist fight these fools, we can never lose!" Mabel cheered, throwing her fist into the air in a hurrah. Dipper laughed a bit, envious of her ability to switch moods with a snap of a finger.

=-=-=-=

They pulled up to a small river, it being small enough to tread through by foot. It made a peaceful noise, filling the void of silence that was these woods. But even if the trickling of nature was there, the eerie feeling of silence was still there. No birds of any kind were around. Even though they had driven here, it was oddly familiar. Small mushrooms lines the river bed, the colors of them varying from reds to greens. 

"Alright every one, if you see a stranger punch them. Doesnt matter who it is, we dont need anyone interfering with this. This is our last shot." Stan hopped out of the truck and threw his pack over his shoulder. Dipper understood what he meant by last shot, and the thought of it alone made his gut sink. If they didnt get this one that would mean bad news.

The other three participants grabbed their bags as well, following Stan down the river. The mushrooms were growing in quantity as they moved down river more and more. Before Dipper knew it, he saw the familiar sight of many shrooms and realized where they were going. 

The trees were turning brown the closer they got, the leaves crunchy and dead. Soon the leaves were completely gone and all that was left was black branches, seemingly burnt and left as charcoal. But upon closer inspection it was clearly some sort of stone, obsidian most likely.

Dipper was careful not to step on the small fungi, remembering the story all too well. It sent shivers up his spine as his dear sister was oblivious to this fact, playfully hopping on the largest ones. He was about to say something when the river split into two. The mushrooms had vanished, leaving only dirt and dead grass. Stan walked forward with the knowledge of where to go. 

The close clustering of trees ended, leaving open wade gaps of space. Dipper thought it would be better to be able to see, but instead it left a feeling of being watched. And by no means did it feel friendly and warm. Up ahead in the distance was a scene he had seen before. A small house with old wood, surrounded by an army of fungi of all different sizes and shapes. Knowing the truth about the scene was still unsettling, but it seemed different than usual. The fungi seemed to be wilting, almost dying without a cause.

"Wow, look at all these little mushrooms. Some of these are bound to be edible!" Mable crouched to the ground, poking at one of them that seemed to be timid in color and size.

"Dont touch those sweetheart, theyre cursed." Stan walked ahead a bit, surveying the area. He had warned about others, but it seemed as if the place was empty besides them.

"Alright, this is where the action happens. I can NOT stress this enough, keep your distance and do NOT let anyone else come close or else things will go down hill very quickly." Stan lectured, stressing the severity of the situation at hand. Dipper didnt really know what he could do against cult members that were trying to destroy the world, but none the less he clenched his fist and kept to the edge of the forest.

Almost as if on cue, the door to the small hut like structure opened and a young woman who was  _way_ too pretty to be human walked out. She was wearing a dress that belonged in the 1690's. Dipper almost didnt recognize her until she spoke, the voice delicate and soft.

"I presume your here to collect the last piece of me, huh?" Lena seemed almost sad at their arrival, but smiled quickly after.

"You know what will happen if all of them are collected, right?" She questions, circling both Wendy and Stan who were standing in the center of the clearing.

"Yes, and thats what we're trying to prevent. Now if you could give up the last piece quickly, that would be nice." Stan held out his hand, quickly receiving a thwack on the arm by Wendy.

"We understand your concerns and I can only guess how much pain youve felt from all the previous pieces. But some very bad people are trying to collect them and we need to prevent that." Wendy let her tone come out a bit more comforting than Stan, who was still holding out his hand exactingly. 

"I see, well I cant just give it to you. You must understand my concerns for the future." Lena stopped her pacing, looking at both of them before glancing at the two kids who were watching with owl eyes. 

Stand was about to say something when Dipper was Mabel whip her head around towards the forest. She seemed to be scanning something, making Dipper quickly run around the border to get to her. When he got to her she gave a quick  _sh_ before leaning in. 

"Dipper something, or someone is in there. Im going to check it out." Before Dipper could complain or give a worried thought, Mabel bolted into the brush. The tree's were thick around the edge, making it difficult for him to watch where she was going. He gave a quick signal to Wendy before jumping into the brush after her, barely being able to follow her pink attire. They ran a bit of ways before reaching another small clearing. It reminded Dipper of the first time they were here, feeling the stiff branches scrape his face. When he caught up to Mabel she was stand in the center of the fairly small space.

"I swear I heard talking over here." Mabel glanced around, checking for any signs of breakage or footprints.

"And you just ran up to it like it was nothing?! This is EXACTLY how people die in horror movies Mabel. And we're the first ones to go." Dipper knew that Mabel was the type of person to go face first into danger, but he had hoped that Mabel had seen enough horror movies to at least gain a small fraction of common sense. 

"Its fine, you worry too much. Besides, Grunkle Stan gave us the specific job to weed out strangers. Mom always said to punch strangers if your in danger." Dipper rubbed his nose a bit at Mabel's ability to twist their mothers teachings. When Dipper was about to correct her on her terrible life lessons, a loud snap sounded from right beside them. Both of them froze, slowly turning to where the noise came from. 

Mabel was the braver of the two of them, slowly walking to where the noise came from. When she jumped into the bush at full force, yelling her classic battle cry, Dipper panicked at her recklessness. He pulled her from the bush, finding her smiling really big.

"It was a frog." They both let out a sigh, before laughing a bit. "I was worried that it was-" Dipper was cut off from a set of hands clapping behind them. They both whipped around to see who had appeared.

"My my, I never expected two random teenagers to be on a walk through cursed woods. Or maybe I did, thats a pretty cliche thing to do." What stood before Dipper and Mabel was a short child, thing. His accent was thick with a Tennessee accent, making a gross shiver run up Dippers spine. He wore a blue suit and had snow white hair, making Dipper question if it was bleached or if he was just albino.

"And what might you two be doin in a place like this?" He gave a sly grin before Mabel flung forward.

"PUNCH STRANGER, I WAS GIVEN PERMISSION." Mabel screeched, throwing fist's. The small boy got pulled back by what seemed like what you could only describe as cult ninjas.

"Well that wasnt very nice, now was it. Get rid of them, and put me down. I have business to attend to anyways." The small boy walked away, leaving Dipper and Mabel with three other cult ninjas who were obviously more stacked than they were. Small knives littered their sides along with other ninja-e stuff. 

Mabel held her fist's up in a ready stance, more than prepared to fight three people against two. Dipper on the other hand gripped her should in warning. "Mabel we cant fight three, we need to go." Dipper gave a hushed warning, he wasnt stupid enough to take on people who were clearly used to fights. But it seems he was too late, Mabel and her head strong attitude made her unpredictable, and Dipper couldnt stop her from lunging forward and giving the first swing. 

None of them seemed to have seen her aggressive behavior, Mabel's hit hitting the man in the lower rib. He gave a solid oof before the other two lunged into action. Dipper didnt let them get a chance though, aiming for the knees with a swift kick. He tripped one and lunged for the other, jumping onto their back with his arms around their neck. Mabel gave another quick punch to the persons face before turning her attention to the one Dipper had tripped. She gave a knee to the face, punching the man Dipper was on in the stomach. The three of them were not as prepared as Dipper thought, jumping off the guys and running to Mabel who seemed filled with adrenaline. 

"We need to get back to the others." Dipper looked to Mabel, receiving a nod in response. They both ran back as fast as their legs would carry them, but by the sound of an explosion, they were a bit too late. The blast shook the ground, making both Dipper and Mabel waver. When they got to the clearing, the scene in front of them was the thing of nightmares. Wendy was knelt beside Stan, who was on the ground looking a but dazed. But both of them were looking at the scene before them. 

A black orb sat a bit above the ground, somewhat resembling that of a black hole. Below it, black crystals started to form, growing larger by each passing moment. The white haired boy was standing next to the orb, hands raised in a fit of maniacal laughter. Dipper and Mabel ran ahead and sat next to Stan, who had dread written all over his face. It wasnt worry, nor panic. It was acceptance and for the first time in a while Dipper understood.

The orb shattered into fractals of black, scattering through the air and sticking there like it was in molasses. What was at the center of the orb was a sight to behold. A woman, dressed in all black. Horns bent off of her head, bending in a the shape of a U. Needless to say, she was not a good guy. Chains whipped around her almost as a protective veil, tearing at the ground and leaving deep trenches that lead to an abyss of black.

"You have to go, go get Ford. Leave!" Stan shooed them, waving his arms in frantic stress.

"But what about you?! We cant just leave you!" Mabel was screaming, trying to reach her voice above the now fierce wind.

"Its too late for me kiddo, just go." Stan looked sadly at her, and alas when looking down at his leg, black crystals began to crawl up. Wendy gripped both Mabel and Dipper's arms and pulled them back. 

"C'mon, we dont have much time!" Wendy was covering her face in attempts to avoid the abundance of debris from getting into her eyes.

All three of them ran, the crevices in the ground turning into full canyons. Dipper could feel his heart in his throat, each pump making his vision more and more clear. His adrenaline was blocking his ears, all he could hear was the echo of wind and the panic in his thought. And yet, no matter how hard the three of them ran, it was just not fast enough. It was Wendy first, her body being completely being engulfed by black crystal, leaving nothing by a giant shard in her place.

The forest around them slowly started disappearing, and when Dipper looked behind them, it was like a tornado met a tsunami. The trees tore from the ground violently, leaving nothing behind. Mabel was next, her hand reaching out toward Dipper before the shards encased her form. There was no time to think, Dipper could feel his heart sing in panic and sadness. 

The next thing Dipper knew was cold. His body turning stiff and his consciousness vanishing. He wasnt surprised at the feeling, the feeling of nothing. 

 


	12. Ah Yes, Another Demon

Being in a void with nothing in it was a strange sensation to say the least. It was cold to say the least, but it was the type of cold where you shiver. No, it was the type of cold where your heart feels empty and you know that you had done something wrong. The type of cold when you accidentally step on your pets paw or walk onto a stage and look out into a crowd of people. That type of cold was everywhere in the void. And no matter how much Dipper tried, he just couldn't think or feel, or exist. He knew he was here, he just didn't know where here was. Just when he started to yearn for freedom, it was as if something had called out to him. It suddenly turned warm, and it was an emotional warm. Burning from the inside out and just before his eyes he saw it, blue flames engulfed his eyes and he felt air hit his lungs in a wave of relief.

He didn't know what had set him free, but the warmth of it lingered in the air and gave a reassuring tug at his heart. When he looked around it was much worse than he had originally thought. There were tears in the ground the size of lakes, showing nothing but the black abyss below. But the storm that had grown seemed to have moved on, the wind almost non-existent. He could see disaster in the distance but that was of the upmost concern. The two other companions that he had ran away with were still encased in the crystallized prison. 

Dipper walked up to the one where Mabel was trapped, feeling the glass on his hand. It was frozen in time, her facial expression sticking to where it had been written with fear. In that moment of loneliness Dipper wanted nothing more than to set her free. But he doubted his luck would draw twice at whatever had helped him. His last chance of survival was back at the church, and he could only hope that Ford was okay. 

Dipper set off, running as half speed toward where he could only guess was town. The sky was almost pitch black except for the ribbons of red that streaked through the clouds. Everything was illuminated by an invisible source of light,  making the landscape seem almost glowing with a purple hue. The ground was as dead as ever and with each step Dipper made it was like walking on dead apples. Unsettling to say the least, he kept at a steady pace. The forest was almost completely gone so finding his way to the decimated town wasn't all the difficult. 

When he found himself at the beginning of the road, it was almost as if gravity had given up. Some buildings were floating ever so slightly with the debris trailing off into the sea of clouds above. Crystals of black scattered the town, showing that most of the town had been destroyed. Walking through the roads he had once gone gave an unsettling wave of emotion in Dippers gut. It almost seemed unreal at the thought that the world was technically ending. Even the air was stale and had no feeling at all, making Dipper wonder if there was air at all. 

When he got to the foot of the hill he was relieved to see that most of the road was intact, meaning that the climb wasn't impossible. When he started climbing, it truly gave him a sight to see. The entire town was decimated and even far into the horizon he could barely see any green before the inky blackness took over. At the top of the hill the church sat unscathed and seemingly completely normal. The only thing that seemed different than before was a slight glimmer, outlining what seemed to be a bubble surrounding it. It was hard to see but it was there, giving off a slight shock from the debris that drifted too close. 

Dipper walked up to it, walking through it with ease. It felt like what you'd expect a bubble to feel like. Inside of the dome it was a much different atmosphere. The ground had what seemed to be runes drawn. Dipper concluded that the runes were the cause of the strange dome, and had hoped that Ford was much better and trying to figure out a way to fix this mess. 

When he got to the door it was opened ever so slightly, opening without needing to turn the knob. The inside was dark, almost abandon. Everything was where Dipper had left it, the chairs were slightly pushed out from the Table from when the group of four ate breakfast. The window was ajar, letting in fresh air in hopes that it would help Ford. Cereal was still out, sitting on the counter waiting to be either put away or used. Luckily the milk wasn't out, making Dipper question if the fridge still had power. But that wasn't the main concern at the moment. 

"Grunkle Ford? Are you here, and okay?" Dipper called out into the stale room, hoping for at least a pained muffle. Instead all he got was a reply of silence. Walking down the hall Dipper could see the study light was on. Inside was Ford, who was laying on the bed with a pained expression. He seemed to be trying to do some work but failed in a surge of pain. 

"Grunkle Ford! Are you okay? I thought we told you to take it easy." Dipper ran over to him and helped him up, propping him sitting up on the bed frame and steadying his body.

"You think I can just sit here with things going on like this? Wheres the others. I thought you went with them." Ford grumbled a bit as his wounds buzzed with unhealed pain. Dipper felt his heart sink, juggling between telling him they were fine, or that he honestly didn't know.

"They got caught up in the beginning. They seem to be like most of the town, encased in some strange crystal." Dipper sat on the bed next to him, looking at the options they had before them. There was really all that much to be honest. They were in the corner of things, the end of the world already happening and a bit late to try and stop now.

"I see, well they should be fine then. They're just stuck in a small rip in time and space. Once we fix everything they should be set free. My real question is, how did you escape?" Ford raised an eyebrow, eyes filled with both concern and curiosity. Dipper didn't know if he should tell him the truth, feeling as if it was bad enough that things were going the way they were. Its not as if he had voluntarily tried to go against his warning, things just sorta happened and these strange occurrences started to follow him from the day he got to this town.

"I honestly have no idea, I guess I just had the weakest link seeing as I was the last one to get snared?" Dipper hoped that he'd just drop it. It didn't help that he himself wasn't even sure.

"Well I suppose that that's and issue for another time. For now we need to brainstorm on what to do. This is an incredibly powerful demon and I dont think I can fight it with just what I have." Ford rubbed his chin a bit, deep in thought. Dipper released a small sigh, things really didn't seem to good at the moment. 

"Hey Grunkle Ford? What is this demon. I know you said that it was something with the combined energies of Lena's soul and all that, but that thing was monstrous." Dipper looked at him with a bit of hope. He really did enjoy stories, even if now was not the ideal story atmosphere. 

"I suppose that is somewhat weird huh? Well its not necessarily Lena in there anymore. You see, when Lena was killed and her soul was shattered, she was left with little to no power. But what most people dont understand is that the people of the town weren't the ones who killed her and shattered her being. It was actually her own power that did it. When she cast a curse on the mob of people that came at her it created a sort of curse on herself. This curse split her heart in two, her Anger and hate being manifested into a nasty demon that was far beyond that of a normal demon. But she also had a side that was filled with love and passion to balance it out. That side of her gave the final attempt to try and destroy the evil she herself had created." Ford tested his wounds a bit, wincing a bit as he poked on of his sides.

"But destroying something that powerful is near impossible, so she did the next best thing. Splitting it off into five and locking them into unknown places to prevent people from seeking out that power. The ones who seek it out are the ones who desire the power for themselves, wanting to use it along with their own power. But that's not how demons work, they dont listen to others orders and that's clearly what happened. Whoever had done this is either dead or regretting it in the split zone." Ford looked at his hands, seemingly looking over his thoughts.

"The split zone?" Dipper knew that they should start thinking of ways to prevent this disaster, but stories always tied in his fascination.

"Yes, a realm created by the Mad Man of a demon. Its a space between the fabric of dimensions and reflects time and reality itself. I'd like to compare it to hell, but that would be too generous." Ford scoffed at the though before reaching for a book on his desk. Dipper quickly sat up and grabbed it for him, making sure he stayed rested for as long as possible. They both knew that he needed it.

"A dimension? No, something in between a dimension? Wouldn't you need more power than a demon to do that?" Dipper wanted more. He was practically information starved throughout the summer. All he found were mysteries that have been left blank.

"Well, yes. A normal demon would have no where near the amount of power to create something like that. Not even this demon would be strong enough to do something of the sort. But that thing wasn't just any demon. It was a monster that would put even Satan himself into shame." Ford glared at the book in his hands, opening it to a page with a  _very_ unsettling picture. It was not a new picture to Dipper, but he didn't say anything. The eye scribbled in dark strokes, almost out of fear. 

"It was a human gone demon. Usually the ones that go demon are the lowest class. But he was a monster. Even in the monsters world he was something to be feared. Devouring other demons and taking their powers through flesh and bone. He was as old as time, terror throughout the ages and soon enough he became an issue. His power grew too grand and he started to get a bounty on his head in the exorcist's realm. My mentors mentor was one of the ones who tried to fight up against him when the hidden war had just begun. But he was keeping his true power a secret, in hopes that he could unleash an all out attack. And it worked. If he was free again, it would make us wish that the world had ended." Ford closed the book and looked over to Dipper, who was now listening with wide, fascinated eyes.

"And that's that. We dont talk about him, we dont think about, because his very existence gives him power. We need to figure out a way to at least free the others. I cant get out of bed. let alone walk all the way to where they are. If only I still had some of the holy relics we'd at least be able to put up a fight. But I had to get rid of them since Stanley kept almost breaking them." Ford gritted his teeth and Dipper was left to think by himself for a moment. 

"What about others? Wouldn't there be other churches and other exorcists to help deal with them?" There were bound to be multiple exorcists in the world, seeing as if there weren't that would be complete bologna.

"We would be able to rely on them if the demonic energy originated from another source other than here. But Gravity falls is like a battery for the stuff and if its this bad here then its bound to be bad every where else. And this demon isn't stupid enough to leave Gravity falls, probably has a hive somewhere close by." Ford seemed a bit lost now, hope was getting a bit low and all Dipper could really think about was Mabel and her face. He felt like he could've done more if he really tried. But it was too late now, and he needed to find a way to fix all this. 

"Well any who, we should be fine here for now. The barrier will hold strong for a while, so if your tired you should go head to bed. Your going to need that energy in the future." Ford opened up another book that sat on the night table. Dipper responded with a nod before leaving the room and walking down the hallway. Things seemed pretty bad and he doubted that he could get any sleep no matter how tired he was. But Dipper headed up the ladder regardless, sitting on his cot when he got to it. It was inviting, but his thoughts were running wild.

Dipper reached underneath the bed in hopes of finishing a book for both entertainment and and a distraction. His hand bumped something cold and metal, grasping the edge and pulling it out. It was the picture frame, the small talisman shimmering its metallic black in the apocalyptic purple light drifting through the window. He traced his fingers around the edge of the frame, fiddling with the back of it. Unlatching the back, he took out the small piece of paper and rubbed it in between his fingers. It was old, having the feeling of rice paper. A terrible,  _terrible_ idea ran through his mind just then. And idea that made him regret thinking it and yet it flared to life in his mind, taking up every other thought he had. 

Dipper gently placed the paper in his wallet and got up from the cot, looking at the wall for a bit before sighing. He really was going to do this. He crept down the stairs and peaked into Fords room quickly. He was working hard, deep in thought. Dipper snuck quietly into the kitchen and propped open the door. When he stepped out of the door he looked to the clouds, the thick blanket like ceiling left nothing of the once blue sky. He knew that what he was going to do was a bad idea. The worst idea he could ever do. The type of idea that got you to the therapist if another human being found out because they think your insane. And yet it didn't stop him from walking out of the bubble, it didn't stop him from walking down the hill and turning to the left into the now, black forest. 

Dipper felt his pulse rise, the realization that danger still might be near. The ground still gave its usual squish, making an uneasy feeling in Dipper's throat. He found a small clearing through the woods, following it down to where the door was. It was like like passing through another barrier, the ground hardening into normal dirt and the tree's going back to normal. It was almost as if the corruption refused to go beyond a certain point.

When Dipper got to the body of water, he felt that distinct pull of an invisible force on his legs yet again. Instead of running, he accepted this time, walking towards the stone door on the other side. He was ready to feel the chill of water, but it never came. A small stone bridge erupted from the water, leading a pathway to the very ominous door. Upon reaching it, he felt the tug stop and he was left there to observe. 

When he touched the stone it was warm, not a burning hot but a welcoming warmth that made his palm not want to leave. He pondered for a moment, wondering how to get it open when his back pocket became to hum. When he took out his wallet the talisman that was sitting peacefully burst out and sprung into the air. It sat there for a moment, leaving Dipper a bit shocked. It slowly started to float forward, reaching the door and pressing against it. The stone slowly began to turn into smaller cubes, falling away into itself. The paper went forward and so did Dipper. The doorway closed behind him, leaving nothing but darkness before him. When he was about to panic the room flared to life with blue fire. Torches on the wall growing until it illuminated the room fully. The door was much smaller than the corridor it seemed. The ceiling grew up into an ark and pillars stretched up to touch it all the way down to the floor. It was more like a castle throne room than anything. 

Dipper kept walking, the pathway leading deeper and deeper into the darkness, the light following him where he went. The paper kept an easy to follow pace, slowing down if he fell to far behind. After a few minutes of walking the floor seemed to change, turning into a black charcoal with hints of what seemed like gold. A little more down and Dipper had to stop, the paper disappearing into a little ball of flame after reaching its destination. 

What sat before Dipper was a monstrosity of a scene. Red robes spun around the small ending in a spiders web, nothing but a chaotic order of pattern. In the center of the robe sat a black figure, completely wrapped in what seemed like fabric. Papers, no talismans resembling the one Dipper had were attached to the ropes, the patterns varying in anything from different languages to the same eye shape. The rope was frayed, the edges where it touched the wall were slowly turning stiff, gold starting to take over. And the  _feeling_ of the room. It was the strangest thing Dipper had ever felt, and he was locked in a time and space rip. It was warm, not muggy hot and not really temperature at all. It was more a blossoming feeling of hope and rejoice. It took over Dippers feelings like a waterfall and all he could feel was relief. 

But they were not his own, making him feel odd at the same time. Concern trying to take over but failing this strong entities persuasion. 

 _'Set me free_ ' It was a whisper in the back of Dipper's head, leaving a tingle that ran down his spine all the way to the tip of his toes. It was not welcoming what so ever and in all honestly Dipper didn't really want to set this thing free. But his options were limited now, and he was already here. 

"Will you help me?" Dipper felt himself curl in on himself a bit, his hands gripping his heart in hoped of trying to stop this shiver that shook his core.

' _I always have, haven't I?_ ' Dipper didn't know what to say. He didn't know if it meant that it helped others before or if it means him. But before he could stick on the question his mind wandered back to the crystal, to the fire that pulled him out. To the first time he met Lena and her attack against him. The same fire burning away her magic in attempt to save him from death. He didn't even think about his next actions this time, putting his hand on the rope and tugging at it to feel its strength. 

It didn't feel strong at all, making a creak when pulled a bit too hard. The movement of the rope echoes back to the black blob in the center, making it sway a bit. This was his first step toward making either a good choice that saves the world, or much worse. Dipper pulled on the rope, tearing it from the walls with a ripping noise that bounced around the corridor. The other ropes seemed to respond to this, burning away in that oh so familiar blue fire. The red whipped into flares of embers before releasing its prisoner. 

The black lump fell to the floor in an unsettling shlomp, moving in a living manner before manifesting into a more humanoid shape. It slowly crept toward Dipper, dragging its legs over to where he was standing. Dipper felt like he needed to run, to hide and escape from this thing. But he didn't, he made this choice so now he was seeing it through. The blob slowly raised it arms and reached for Dipper, wrapping itself around him in a hugging manner. Before Dipper could realize a sharp pain seared through him, making him grunt in a choking pain before seeing before him the being slowly disappear into him. It soaked through his clothes and he could feel the strange liquid being move around his torso.

The went away and so did the slimy feeling on his chest. The pain slowly went away as well and Dipper was left alone in the room. Well he wasn't alone, he could feel it. It was just not here so to say. Dipper lifted his shirt to see metallic black ink imprinted on his skin into different shapes. Dipper took a moment to observe his body, noting the way the ink twisted into a way that made a triangle on his chest with the familiar eye at the center. He felt his hand on his back, tracing the small indent that made a circle. It had many symbols and twist, making him note to check it out in a mirror later. 

The strange tattoo like images twisted all the way down to his arms, wrapping around his wrist's with what Dipper could only call tribal symbols. I mean, he was thinking of getting a tattoo but this seemed a bit extreme even for him.

' _Take me to it_ ' The voice was closer to him now, and he felt the warmth all over his shoulders. It was the weirdest sensation that left Dipper with a twisted and concerned expression. 

"T-to what? And why did you uh," Dipper motioned to his whole body.

' _I am not yet to full strength. I have bonded to you to make the regenerative properties stronger. Take me to the beast that torments you._ ' Dipper gulped a bit, nodding before turning back down the corridor. His walking slowly turned into a slow sprint, the thought of freeing his sister making his heart pump. The outside was just as it was and now with the ability to run full speed, he took it. He felt his whole body lurch and he headed straight for the storm. The soft, squishy earth was no longer squishy. With each step he made the terrain around them turned back to its normal self. The sky made a shattering sound, falling apart into its blue. Dipper didnt know what type of power this was, but it cut through the other demons power like butter. 

Dipper burst into the small clearing where his friends were trapped, resisting the urge to run to them now. It would be best for them not to realize what he had done. The storm was a bit father away now, but for one reason or another he didnt feel fatigued by the run at all and continued his run to where the center of it all was. The restoration of the world was stopped now, the ground turning back to its mushy dead apple feel. Before he could question it he felt a light grip on his ribs.

' _My power is weakened. We are close to a strong power source. We will need to get closer if you want to me to kill it.'_ Dipper didn't really like the idea of getting closer, but at this point he really didn't have a choice. When he got closer he was able to finally see what Ford meant by Hive. A large crystallized black ball sat in the middle of the valley. Its outstretched limbs tearing once again into the earth below. It seemed to be growing by every second and Dipper wondered how he was going to get into a thing like this. 

No matter what though, he felt like he could do it. His blood felt stronger in his veins now and his bones pulsed with a new found power. Dipper walked forwards, feeling the wind kick up and signal that he was now in the storms hold. His sights were now set on saving this town, saving his sister.  

 


	13. Fighting Fire with Fire

Dipper stood before the towering structure, the black crystallized hive reaching up into the clouds and brushing against them lightly. Dipper was hidden ever so slightly by brush that sat on the rim of the clearing. The bottom of the hive was swarming with what seemed like drones. The quantity of them creating a black cloud that was impossible to see through. The structure was held up by pillars thicker than a house and reached all the way up to where the nest sat. He had no idea how to get up but could only assume that it was either fight the cloud or find a way in another way, and Dipper wasn't much of a fighter.

' _Shake the nest and let the fireworks start~_ ' The voice sounded next to him, sounding impatient and ready. But Dipper didn't really want to create unnecessary damage to the surrounding landscape. It was still apart of the town and the whole , demon trying to take over the world thing, was big enough as it was.

"I think id rather take a more docile approach please. If at all possible I want the only conflict to be inside the hive" Dipper felt a sigh of disappointment come from somewhere. He slowly started to make his way down to where the nest was, aiming to get to one of the pillars that stood tall. He tumbled ever so slightly and pressed against the glassy surface. He let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding, relieved at the fact that the drones had not seen him. Dipper looked up, realizing just how tall this thing was in the sky. It had to be at least the size of a small town, maybe even larger than Gravity Falls. But the size didn't help at all with the fact that he still needed to somehow get up to the hive.

"I need to get up there, any suggestions?" Dipper really didn't like asking a demon for help, but his options were limited and now with the ticking time of pending doom help was needed greatly. 

' _It would be my pleasure Pine-Tree~'_ Before Dipper could question both the methods and the name, long strands of black fabric appeared before him. They twisted and twirled out from his torso and filled the air. After there was a good three feet of the stuff, a couple of the strands stiffened into sharp points. The other strands wrapped around Dipper in almost a seat belt manner. The sharp ones then stabbed into the side of the surface, and soon Dipper put two and two together. He didn't even have time to scream. He felt his body quickly lower and then raise. The momentum from the throw pushing all the air out of his lungs. When he started slow and make an ever so slight decent, the tendril jammed into the wall again. This time they were just below the hive.

"Are, ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Dipper felt his breath finally come back and panic started to settle in its place.

' _AHhahahh, you flatter me kid.'_ The voice behind him cackled more before cutting a small opening into the dome above them. Just a small triangle to fit Dipper through and into the large structure. When Dipper was placed onto the ground and was give some time to take a breather, the fabric slowly started to recede back into him.  When he caught his breath and steadied his heartbeat he finally gave a glance around to their surroundings. It was massive inside the nest, reaching up high into the air, small bridges and branched of crystal stabilizing it from the inside. There were no other creatures on the inside though, the space being completely barren. Dipper was a but relieved by the lack of workers but the trouble still stood with the way to get up, and he didn't really want to get thrown again. 

He had hoped that the inside would have been more like a normal bee hive, with tunnels filling most of it. But instead it was almost completely empty. Even the branches that were scattered throughout the hollow were thin and not really a viable way to get up into the upper most parts. He did suppose that they didn't really need any way to get up or anything seeing as most of the drones and the queen itself were able to fly. But that didn't fix his issue. 

' _You can always ask for help you know~ And dont worry, I wont chuck you at an unknown demon~_ ' The voice had its usual taunting tone that made Dipper want to punch something, or someone. 

"I dont really want to rely on you, seeing as I dont even know your name." Dipper was a bit skeptical about anything that the voice said, even though he was practically useless in this situation. 

' _They didn't even tell you who I was? My, now that's just harsh. Though I suppose anyone would try and bury the other if they had tried to turn their precious world into the universe's almost largest amusement park.'_ A laugh tore through Dipper's mind and all he could do was roll his eyes. ' _But you can call me Bill, or otherwise known as Bill Cipher."_ Dipper paused for a moment, thinking for a bit.

"Bills is a surprisingly normal name." And Dipper was right, it was most likely the most normal name next to John, or Steve. 

' _Well I have my reasons just like you have your reasons, Mason._ ' Dipper froze, questions filling his head like a broken dam. ' _Relax kid, i'm a demon of the mind and i'm currently using you as a housing vessel. Of course I know your real name._ ' He didnt really like the idea of a demon knowing his name, but if its something he cant help then so be it.

"Well then, are you going to help me, Bill?" Dipper waited patiently, crossing his arms in anticipation.

' _As you command your highness._ ' Suddenly Dipper felt his body become lighter and lighter, his clothes drifting a bit as the gravity around him started to become altered. He was going to question why he didn't use this outside, but now was not the time to question a demons sanity. Dipper felt the air around him, bouncing on his feet lightly before crouching down and jumping with all his might. He didn't get too far, but it was much farther than climbing would have been. Dipper slowly started to make his way up, bouncing off passing ledges and bridges. 

"So, how come you have so little power even though your possessively such a great demon that even gods are scared of you?" Dipper needed to fill the void of silence with something, even if it meant making conversation with demons.

' _Well I needed some way to get out. And the lock they put on me was one hell of a lock. I only managed to get past three levels. Though, it was enough.'_ Bill let out a small cackle, the type that made you sure of an insane mans intention. ' _I was finally able to connect with the outside world. Though it did help when you came along. For some reason there's a strong bond between our souls that really let me contact you._ ' Dipper nodded. He had felt a strange presence the moment he had entered the town. But he had no idea it was a demon.

"But wont the gods or whatever find out that your out and want to put you back in?" Dipper remembered that Ford had said something about the world gods banding together or something. And if he was so much weaker than before then locking him up again would be so much easier.

 _' They wont be able to sense JACK. They're all idiots that think just because they hold so much power that they're unbeatable. That's what i'm here for, to show them that theyr'e no more of gods than ME.'_ The laugh let out again, which was very unsettling to Dipper. This thing was prepared to fist fight the gods, and he had let it out into the world. The question of if he made a mistake had been answered. And the answer was yes, very much so.

Dipper finally hit the higher part of the hive, and he was finally able to see a ceiling. A hole in the center revealed that it was most likely the top floor. This was it, Dipper was finally going to be able to save Mabel and the others. He just needed to win against the Black Witch and everything would be over. Well, almost over. The worries for the future would just have to wait when they got there, for now the only thing on Dipper's mind was what was in front of him.

He dove through the hole, a room opening up before him. At the very top where the hive started to curve inwards, there was a small orb of black that resembled a cocoon. But instead of a normal orb there was shards sticking out of it, blending into the walls and ceiling. The walls of the cocoon were impossible to see through, the contents of the orb being invisible. Dipper landed onto the floor beside the hole, slowly feeling his weight turn back to normal and his clothes regaining their gravity. Now all that was left was to fight.

When Dipper was about to say something, he slowly started to feel his body grow hot. It was like tape being pulled off of his skin as black goo slowly poor out from his shirt. The goo slowly crept forward, morphing more and more into a more humanoid shape. Just when Dipper thought it was done it started to morph again, this time with blue flames lapping at the edges. He had to cover his eyes from the flames flickering to life. And when he looked back, a man that stood 6'2 was in front of him. A long trench coat made of black stretched down to his feet. Dress pants and a vest compliments it nicely, and the color scheme was just as confusing as his face. The vest was yellow with black buttons, with the coat being the complete opposite. His face was sharp, golden eyes that reminded him of cats matched his hair. Black hair was met to yellow, slicked back into a top hat that tied everything together. A toothy grin stretched across this mans face, screaming danger to everything in a forty mile radius.

"If you stare too much ill need to cut your eyes out, kid." Dipper jumped a bit, the voice catching his off guard. He quickly looked at his shoes, knowing full well that this man would pull through with threats like those. "Ahhhahahhah, I'm just kidding you. So, how do you want to get rid of this thing?" An arm hooked around his neck and a weight leaned against him. He smelled surprisingly good.

"As quickly as possible?" Dipper didn't really know how to answer that, but didn't really want to take any chances. Bill frowned a bit, looking at him with those piercing eyes. Man, he smelled _really good._

"Pity, I wanted to have a bit of fun. But I suppose staying in this form for too long would be an issue." Bill walked forward, leaving Dipper to stand and watch in awe as a blue ball of fire formed in his gloved hand. A long thin blade appeared from it, stretching long until it hit a hooked handle made of gold and shaped like a snake. Needless to say, it fit his aesthetic well. "Iv'e only got about ten minutes like this, so i'm going to need you to sit tight kid." With a snap of the mans finger Dipper felt his body shift a bit. The gravity had changed again and Dipper found himself floating ever so slightly inside of a glass container. Well, it was almost glass, but at the same time it wasn't. It was in the shape of a triangle that spun ever so slightly and all Dipper could now do was sit there and watch.

"Now, lets get some lights on this party!" Bill held up the lithe sword and drifted up to the cocoon before stopping just before it. He seemed to stand on it, completely disregarding and sort of logic while standing completely side ways. With on raise of his arm the blade pierced the orb, sinking into it like it was water. "I do enjoy myself some hard boiled egg!" And with his signature laughter the inside of the 'egg' started to glow a bright blue before exploding into a shattered mess. Dipper covered his eyes from the light and debris, but found his protective shell kept any shards from getting near. 

What was left of the cocoon was a a humanoid form, Dipper soon realizing who it was. The queen of the hive, or the black demon that had trapped every one was floating where the orb had once sat. She seemed to be extremely pissed by the sound of a high pitched shriek. It echoed through the room, shaking the crystallized walls with the force. Bill stood, floated? there like nothing was happening. The last thing Dipper saw was the demon smile a devious grin before the entire room filled with a brilliant light. This time Dipper completely closed his eyes, feeling heat radiate from all around him.

When he opened them the room was empty. Actually, there was no room. The outside was showing, the clouds above burned away and showing its old blue self. When Dipper looked down, he was still floating in the strange cage. Even more so, there was no hive. There wasn't even a ground! A crater sat where the nest had sat before, deeper than anything he had seen before. Luckily it seemed fairly controlled for something of its caliber and nothing else seemed to be destroyed. The town was still in the distance, well and not destroyed. 

"ɎØɄ, ₩Ⱨ₳₮ ₳ⱤɆ ɎØɄ ĐØł₦₲ ⱧɆⱤɆ" Dipper turned back to where the explosion had started. Bill was still floating there, smiling wildly at himself. In front of him sat the Black Demon, she wasn't dead but she sure wasn't all right. She was torn apart, missing limbs and bleeding from almost everywhere. And by the sound of it she knew who Bill was. 

"What, did you miss me? Id love to chat but iv'e got plans." Bills face turned flat, a serious tone immediately taking over. "But id  _love_ for you to help me with a little issue iv'e been having. You see, after being locked away for several centuries i'm kinda low on battery." When his grin returned it was a bit different than before. Even the demon before him seemed to sense it, slowly floating back away from him.

"₲Ɇ₮ ₳₩₳Ɏ ₣ⱤØ₥ ₥Ɇ, ɎØɄ, ɎØɄ ₥Ø₦₴₮ɆⱤ." Fear now filled this once terrifying demon as it tried to get away. But her movements were cut short by some invisible force, her voice strangled as Bill held out his hand. She slowly got closer to him, her movements now mimicking that of an animal about to get eaten. And that's just what happened. Her body slowly got dissolved, a familiar black goo being replaced as she slowly melted. Bill, Bill looked like he was in the most pleasure he had been in since the beginning of time. It disturbed Dipper immensely, forcing him to turn his head away from the scene before him. He had truly released a monster.

"Now how about we put you down kid, before I lose form and drop ya into the abyss below!" Dipper turned back to bill, who was floating back to him. He wanted to ask why, but decided that the answer was best buried. Dipper slowly felt himself be lowered, his feet finally hitting the dead grass at the edge of the crater. The glass shattered and Dipper was set free, and he slowly started to notice the black crystal from the Black Demon was dissolving. His spirits perked up, turning to where Mabel was to be located. He needed to get there now.

"Well kid, it was nice meeting you in my physical form, but now I gotta say bye." Dipper turned around just in time to feel arms around his middle. A body pressed against him and Dipper felt startled pricks all up his neck. Without another word Bill turned back into his more liquid form, wrapping but onto Dipper. He shivered at the feeling of cold goop curl around his torso. ' _Man, that was fun. But i'm pooped so if you dont mind please dont bother me for a while. I gotta process all this raw energy now._ ' Dipper had a lot of questions, not just from today but from the past. Everything that had happened up until now was finally sinking into his bones. But all those questions would have to wait, he had a family to face.

Walking back wasn't too hard seeing as Dipper still felt like he could run miles. He assumed it was because of the demon now residing inside of him, and he was grateful for it. Without all that extra energy he'd be exhausted by now. The forest was getting back to normal by the looks of it, the trees gaining back their green hue and the grass starting to perk up. Birds and animals were still missing, and how could Dipper blame them. After all that happened he wish he wasn't here either. 

The small field where Mabel and the others were was empty by now, the tall cages that help his companions now melted away along with the rest of it. The sky was now its bright blue, the sun basking the earth below. Dipper ran over to where Mabel was, finding it empty along with the rest of the others. Fear pricked at the back of high calves, worry now filling his thoughts. They weren't dead were they? The though made Dippers heart pump in his ears and all his mind could think of was Mabel's face. But he knew better than to jump to conclusions. He knew where to head next, hoping that they were there. 

When Dipper started his walk back to the church he noticed the town was now back to normal. No more flying buildings or debris, only the bustling lives of the townsfolk who seemed to think everything was back to normal. Sure, that was strange but more so reassuring. It would help avoid any awkward explanations. The hill was normal, so was the road. Everything seemed, almost too peaceful and it made Dipper feel uneasy.

Reaching the church that sat on the top of hill, Dipper could tell that the bubble was still there. Its shine was covering the building in a protective barrier and by the looks of the truck being back to where it belonged, the rest of the group was here as well. It took off a huge weight, but now the pending realization at a million other things were there. Instead of just heading in Dipper decided to take a more subtle approach, creeping to a window that lead to Fords study. It was cracked ever so slightly from being opened before the group had left. Dipper was just glad that they hadn't closed it.

"Maybe he just went to go check on the town?" It was Mabel's sweet voice that spoke. It made a smile appear on Dipper's face, relief at his sister's safety relaxing him for a bit. But it only lasted a moment.

"The coincident is just too great. Dipper getting out long before everyone? Then just disappearing? And not only that the end of the world just STOPS?" It was Stan this time, it wasn't angry, but more on the side of cautious. And he had every right to be. "We need to go out and look for him, for all we know he sold his soul to the bitch to make her stop!" Dipper heard a thwack and an owch, before a sigh came.

"Dipper's not stupid enough to make a deal with a demon. Wendy, Mabel, you two can go and search for him. I also need you to make sure the towns okay. If you find Dipper just talk to him. Stan you need to stay here with, I have some work I need to do and with this condition I cant do much." Ford sounded much calmer than he though he would be, but was relieved none the less. He hated spying on his own family, but with most of his decisions he couldn't really afford to do much else. A grumble came from the room before foot steps walked out. Dipper couldn't face them now! He was no where near ready. He had 'I made a deal with not just a demon, but the devil himself' written all over him. And he meant the literally. The tattoo's were all the way down to his hands and even if he did have long sleeves on, that didn't really help in the long run. 

Just when he was about to have a panic attack an idea hit him. He hated lying seeing as he wasn't all that good at it. But that didn't matter, because what he hated more than lying, was lying to Mabel. They always shared secrets with each other and this was a pretty big secret. But she couldn't know about this no matter what, and Dipper had a brilliant idea of how he was going to hide it. 


	14. Everything is Fine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This flow for writing hasnt stopped yet. It just keeps coming, and its great! Thanks for all the support so far as well. Its noticed and appreciated!

Dipper found his way down to town. Somehow managing to avoid both Wendy and his dear sister. When he finally hit the center of town, people crowding around and doing their daily routine as if nothing had happened, he finally found the person he was looking for. She was looking in the window of a small sweets shop, a warm smile on her face. Dipper could only guess that she was buying something for a certain someone.

"Pacifica! Oh my god thank you for being here I need your help it URGENT!" Dipper gripped her arm and glared her in the eyes. She seemed to be startled at his appearance, but quickly was covered in a questioning expression.

"Alright, ill hear you out." She stood there, arms crossed.

"No we cant do it here, Mabel and Wendy are looking for me and they cant find me yet. Also, please dont tell Mabel anything that i'm going to show and or tell you." Dipper pleaded, looking around for the mentioned two.

"Well, I dont really like keeping secrets from Mabel, but I guess if its urgent enough for you to ask me for help, ill hear you out. We can head to my place, its private property so no one can go there unless invited or accepted." Dipper let out a sigh of relief, giving Pacifica a very awkward hug.

"Dear god, thank you." Dipper let go, pushing her away awkwardly. Now was not the time to create awkward situations with his sisters almost girlfriend.

' _You shouldn't be thanking god when you have me here~'_ Dipper whipped his head to look at Pacifica, but she didn't seem to hear anything. Dipper was both happy and sad about it, his secret being able to stay hidden even if Bill was an ass but also terrible because if he was caught talking to himself he would be seen as a mad man. They both headed up to where Pacifica's mansion sat, looming over the small town below. Dipper would always be shocked about the size of the property, her wealth always showing on either the clothes she wore or the remarks she made. 

"Alright, will just sitting in the garden do or do you want to go to my room." She turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

"Room please, I dont need anyone to see this." Dipper didn't need anyone, and he meant  _anyone_ finding out his newfound tattoos. It wasnt just the fact that it was actually a demon, but more or so the fact that he was living in a church. His great uncles were PRIESTS and if having tattoos didnt mean rebellion he didnt know what did. 

"If your going to hit on me ill hit back. And I mean with my fist's" Dipper looked at her with shock and disgust, confusion being mixed in. "Im kidding you idiot, I know your not like that. Just sit on one of the chair, ill grab us some snacks." Pacifica's room was massive. Her bed was massive. For Christ's sake she had a chandelier for a light source. Dipper sat back on one of the chairs with a sigh. It was comfortable and smelled of fake roses. 

' _My, are you going to tell our little secret? I'm not complaining, for all the better it might add some fun.'_ A small chuckle followed, making Dipper frown.

"No, im going to try and cover up your markings because even if she did find out she wouldn't be the one trying to exorcise you. My Grunkles are exorcists's, they would attempt to kill you before giving me a lecture of a life time." Dipper rubbed his eyes, the whole scenario making him tired.

"Dipper, who are you taking to?" Pacifica walked into the room with a tray of food. Several types of sweet and savory finger food was on it, along with a cup of tea and a tea pot. 

"Uh, no one. Just thinking things over with myself. Is that tea?" He tried his best to change the subject before grabbing one of the savories and stuffing it in his mouth. Pacifica seemed to understand, simply replying to his distressed reply with a raised eyebrow.

"Alright then, so whats this problem your having. And why is it so important that you came to me of all people for help. I suspect that Mabel would be more than happy to help you out." Pacifica grabbed a sweet of her own, taking a bit while watching Dipper. 

"So, I uh. I made a mistake and I need help to cover it up. I know that it wont fool my family for long, but I just need some time to sort it out." Dipper suddenly felt a rush of anxiety. 

' _ahahha, a mistake? That's an understatement kid!'_ Oh Dipper wanted nothing more than to tell him to shut up. It was his fault! He was the mistake!

"Alright, so what is it? Just spit it out. Unless you murdered someone I doubt ill turn you in." Oh how Dipper wanted to tell her he technically did. But he held back, taking a deep breath.

"I got a tattoo." Dipper winced a bit, waiting for the 'oh my goodness you sinner' but it never came. Instead Pacifica started laughing, tears forming in her eyes.

"A tattoo? That's it? Dipper I thought you were going to tell me you lost your virginity or something by the way you were acting! But instead its just a little tatt-" Dipper quickly pulled off his shirt and watched her reaction go from teary and laughing to wide eyed and surprised. "Well, a very large tattoo. Holy shit Dipper what happened. Did you fail a dare or something?" Pacifica got up, slowly stepping closer to him and started to examine the indents of metallic black ink.

"Iv'e never seen a tattoo like this, where did you get it? The lines are so straight the way its inked is insane!" Dipper swatted her away and pressed his face into his hands. 

"It doesn't matter, I just need a way to keep this away from my family for as long as possible. If they find out about this i'm dead meat!" Dipper wailed in anguish. And he knew he'd be dead not just by the tattoo alone.

"Well that's going to be difficult seeing as its completely across your body. And its super dark too, so make up might not work. Here, I think I have an idea." Pacifica went over to her closet, disappearing behind the door. By the sound of her voice, it was a very large walk in closet. "You know those body suit things that people wear sometimes for green screens and such? Well they make them in all sorts of colors and I have a skin colored one from Halloween. It was the only thing that allowed me to wear a crop top. Ah, here it is." When she walked out it looked at if she was carrying a shed skin. It was a bit lighter than Dippers skin tone, but from afar it would look almost normal. The only problem was that it was Pacifica size. She wasn't all too much smaller than him, but something skin tight would really make you feel the difference.

"We can cut off the hands and legs. It'll be like a long sleeved shirt but under your normal shirt!." Pacifica gave Dipper a smile and Dipper smiled back. It was just what he needed. Tight fit or not it would save him.

"Thanks Paz, I owe you big time." Dipper felt worry leave him, a sigh escaping from his lips. 

"Yes, big time. But i'm pretty sure you know what ill ask." She gave off a blush before turning to her drawer, grabbing a pair of scissors and started to work on the trims.

"Yeah yeah, if you want a date with Mabel you can just  _ask_ her." Dipper smirked and gave of a small laugh. Pacifica made a small huff, not bothering to turn around.

"Its not a date, I just like hanging out with her. And if I could ask her dont you think I would?" Dipper couldn't see her face but he could tell from her voice, she was pouting. A small feeling pricked at his gut, a small realization brewing in his heart. She had no idea what had happened to him or Mabel. She was completely oblivious to the fact that the world had almost ended. And if Dipper hadn't stopped it, and the end really did come. She would just be stuck in time, never knowing what truly happened. Dipper slowly started to feel a bit better about his choices. 

"There, it should fit now. I cut some slits in the side to allow a better stretch. You have pretty feminine hips anyways." Pacifica threw the shirt to him, putting the scissors away.

"I do not!" Dipper slipped it on, the fit being a but too tight around the shoulders, but not so much that it was uncomfortable.

' _Yeah you do~'_ Bill's voice taunted, a snicker drifting into the darkness of his thoughts.

"Shut up!" Dipper grumbled, flustered heat rippling down his back.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't need to get so grumpy." He didn't really mean to direct it at Pacifica, but what was he to say? 'No sorry, i was talking to a voice in my head?' He felt guilty for not telling her the truth. But the truth for her would be a lot more than just saying he made a deal with the devil.

"You wont tell anyone about this right? I know you dont like lying to Mabel, but I dont think i'm ready to uh, show her this." Dipper slipped on his shirt over the undershirt. It almost completely covered up the markings. The only marks shown being that on his palms. They were eyes, both the same on each hand. 

"Sure ill keep it from her. By the looks of it you haven't accepted it yourself. I dont know the story and I wont ask, but if you start having problem with it, and I mean medical wise, i'm telling Mabel immediately." Pacifica had a dead stare, her threats hard on in her eyes. 

"That's fair. Thanks again." Dipper got up, snagging another small sandwich before both him and Pacifica turned their head to a know at the door. It was Pacifca's butler who bowed a bit.

"Mam, Mabel Pines is here." Dipper felt panic rise and as he stood he quickly looked around the room for an escape plan. He hadn't even though of every scenario of how it would turn out yet! And going in on this without preparation would be disastrous. He was bad at lying as it was.

"PAZ ITS TERRIBLE YO-" Mabel stopped at the doorway. All three of them freezing. Dipper felt his sweat freeze on his back, giving him a chill.

' _I could kill them if you want~_ ' Dippers eyes widened a bit.

"NO!" Both of the other participants looked at him a bit shocked. "Way! No way Mabel your here too? I was just about to go back to the church!" Cold sweat started to appear down his legs. His hands shaking a bit.

"Dipper came over to ask about my library seeing as my parents have quite the collection. I was letting him do some of his nerd research." Pacifica added in, just as shocked as he was. The room stayed a tight silence for a bit more. Bill laughing all the while in Dippers head. Oh how he wanted to punch him in the face. Luckily, it seemed their efforts worked as Mabel face lit up.

"Oh i'm so happy you two are getting along." Mabel ran up to Dipper and have him a hug, squeezing the air out of him before letting go. "But Grunkle Ford is looking for you. Sorry Paz, I cant hang out today. Ill come bye later though!" Mabel's bright smile made Dippers heart warm up. If only she knew. 

"That's fine, I get that your busy." Pacifica gave her a small smile and turned to Dipper. "Good luck on your 'Studies'" Pacifica raised an eyebrow to him before shooing the two of them out. The walk back to the Church was longer than he wanted it to be. Mabel was quiet, which was all the more unsettling. She wasn't even  _skipping_. So he knew she was mad at him. He thought about starting a conversation on his own, but decided against it. He didn't need to be asked a million questions, only to have to answer them again when he face Ford. 

About halfway there, just passing through the town, Mabel gripped his arm. She didn't look at him, keeping her eyes on what was ahead of them.

"I was worried about you." Her voice was soft, making Dipper want to break into tears. He wanted to tell her everything. He wanted to poor out everything he had on his heart. But he couldn't, making it even more painful than anything he had felt. Instead of pouring out his conscious he replied with a squeeze on her hand. It seemed to suffice, making her relax. If only it had made Dipper relax, his shoulders back to being stiff.  The rest of the walk was mostly quiet, a few comments about the town here and there.  

When they got to the bottom of the hill, a small call came from behind them. When they both turned, Wendy was running up to both of them with a smile on her face. She was waving to them, catching up to the twins in no time.

'Oh hey Dipper, we've been looking for you. Mabel I need your help though, some of the creatures in the woods are returning, and are kinda frazzled by the situation. I dont want them to head to town." She gave Dipper a slight pat on the shoulder before looking over to Mabel, who seemed a bit sad about leaving Dipper.

"You can go on ahead. And dont worry, Ford didn't seemed too concerned about your disappearance." Mabel gave a small smile before following Wendy back into town. Dipper didn't know how he felt about facing his grunkles alone, but at this point he didn't really have a choice. While walking up the hill for the third time of the day, he started to think of all the possible routes this could take. And most of all, all the possible lies he could tell. It felt awful, but what had to be done would be done. Dipper finally got to the church, stepping up to the doorway. The creak of the hinges made slight chills run through his bones, slowly peaking into the empty, dark room. He could see light coming from the hallway, voices drifting silently from the same direction. 

Peaking around the corner into the small room that was Fords study, he could see Ford still in bed, reading something out loud. Stan on the other hand seemed a bit bored, but listened none the less. Dipper knew all the scenarios, but still had no idea how to approach this situation. He could just walk in and say hey, or open and close the door a bit louder to indicate his arrival. But instead of being an idiot he knocked on the wall beside the door. He could feel his body subconsciously chew on his cheek. 

Both Stan and Ford turned to the door, meeting eyes with Dipper who was still peaking around the corner. They both seemed to stop doing what they were doing. Ford turning his body more while Stan squared his shoulder. Man, he felt like he was going to confront his school bullies. 

"Come on in, we were just talking about the recent events." Stan pulled up a chair next to him, letting it face Ford. They both seemed pretty calm about the situation, making Dipper feel a bit uneasy. He walked over to the two, sitting in the chair and looking around the room. It was messy from recent bustle, and a half eaten bowl of soup sat on the desk.

"You had me worried there for a moment. You disappeared with out a word." Ford looked at him, more concern than suspicion. Which was suspected seeing as they had no reason to be wary or him. Even though Dipper knew deep down that they had every reason to be cautious of him.

"Yeah, I went out to check out the library for any information. I thought you wouldn't let me leave so I didn't tell you." Dipper looked at his hands, feeling guilt pool bellow his feet. He let the guilt show through this time, hoping they would see it as guilt for leaving instead of lying.

"Library? We dont have a library in town." Stan blurted, getting a small kick from Stan.

"That's not important. I'm just happy your all right. I dont know what i'd tell your parents if you had gotten hurt. Though, it is strange that the demon just up and disappeared. We didn't even see how it vanished. You didn't see anything while you were out right?" Ford was rubbing his stubble, trying his best to puzzle things together. If he hadn't seen the bright light that Bill used to destroy everything, then it must've been his fault that the town doesn't remember. And he was grateful for it. 

"No, I was inside the whole time. The next time I went outside the sky was back to normal." Dipper squeezed his finger, feeling the circulation slowly disappear before letting go. He was surprised that the lie was going so far. Dipper was an awful liar.

"Well I guess that doesn't progress this mystery any more than before." Ford sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He seemed tired. "You can go now, your probably tired from everything. I wont keep you here." Dipper was tired, the heavy feeling in his bones finally coming to mind. He wanted nothing more that to just fall into bed. Dipper made his way out of the room, hesitating in the hallway for a moment before heading up the ladder. The room was just as he left it, the picture frame still on his bed empty. He placed it on the drawer, not even bothering with clothes before sliding into bed. And he meant literally slide. starting from the bottom until his head hit the pillow.

' _Oh man, you humans and your need for sleep. Its so cute~_ ' Dipper could feel hands on his back, making him grunt in exhaustion. He didn't have enough energy for this. But the hands just kept rubbing his back, a slight weight added to it. Actually, it felt really good and Dipper found himself falling asleep much quicker than usual. ' _Sweet dreams little Pine Tree'_

Everything turned dark around him and his body finally fully relaxed.

**Author's Note:**

> I am going to work on each chapter little by little each day, so sorry if it takes a while.


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